The Uncertainty Factor
by Invader Mel
Summary: Dib finds something about his alien abductions...but when he does find out the truth, can he handle it? It involves an alien world, too!
1. Emergency Room

The Sleep Factor  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
SUMMARY: Dib finds something about his alien abductions...but when he does find out the truth, can he handle it? It involves an alien world; it's sci- fi, humor, and action/adventure--what more you ask for?  
  
Author's Note: This is kinda like a remake of 'The Ability', except that there's no romance, (YAY!) it's an SI, and it's going to be better, with more content and an easier-to-follow story. Also, the book 'Dune,' by Frank Herbert, inspired some of this story.  
  
Um...it's long, but it's worth it...I hope.  
  
Chapter One: Emergency Room  
  
  
  
Ms. Bitters's class was unusually silent as the children got into their seats. Dib was sitting and watching the clock, trying to picture Zim on an autopsy table. As he got to these pleasant thoughts, however, the bell rang. Ms. Bitters began her lecture on how in a million years pigs will fly and explode, spreading horrible plagues around the world. She was soon interrupted by the crashing open of the door, where a girl now stood.  
  
The girl was about 5'8", had shoulder length brown hair, wore a pair of glasses with oval frames, and had gray-brown eyes. She wore a black, long-sleeve shirt with Dib, Zim, Gaz, and Ms. Bitters on it, along with a pair of black slacks and white tennis shoes. To top it all off, she wore a silver coat that shimmered in the light. It was clear that she didn't get outside much, for she didn't have much of a tan.  
  
"Class, this is another horribly pathetic student who has apparently come to join us. Now, whoever you are, sit down!"  
  
"Don't I get to at least say my name?"  
  
"No. Now sit down!" She shrugged and sat in the now-empty seat to Dib's right. When she noticed he was looking at her, she smiled. He smiled nervously, and then straightened in his seat. The girl laughed a little to herself about his behavior, for he seemed to be acting oddly.  
  
During silent reading, she picked up her purse, opened it up, and carefully placed each of the books inside onto her desk, seven in all. This was unusual to Dib, mainly because most of the children at skool hated reading and only brought in little kindergarten books to read, both because of skill level and short length. Even more curious to him was her choice in material: Alien Update, Ruins (an X-files book), Abduction: Human Encounters With Aliens, UFO Crash at Roswell, The Day After Roswell, Dune (by Frank Herbert), and Intruders: The Incredible Visitations at Copley Woods. (Note: These are actual titles; I do not own the books themselves as in copyrights, but those are the seven books I carry around with me. Please don't sue me; I'm vital for...stuff.)  
  
Noticing Dib's intrigue, the girl pointed to Alien Update and mouthed out: "You like this?" He nodded his head, and she handed him the book. She herself picked out Abduction: Human Encounters With Aliens, and read until recess. When at last the time came, she turned to Dib.  
  
"Do you want to borrow it?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, sure. Thanks." As he walked to the playground area, still reading, she walked alongside him. Looking up from the book, he noticed her presence. "Why are you following me?"  
  
"I just thought you might be curious and ask more questions."  
  
"Questions? What kind of questions?"  
  
"Well, you were staring at me in class; you must find something about me to be questionable."  
  
"Okay, um...what's your name?"  
  
"Mel. And yours...?"  
  
"Dib."  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"You're interested in UFO's?"  
  
"Yes. I was abducted by aliens at ages 11.85 and around eight years before then, too. And when you're being taken aboard against your will by creatures from another planet, it's always good to do a little research. Any more questions for me?"  
  
"Uh...See that green kid over there?"  
  
"Oh, you mean the alien?"  
  
"Yeah, his name is Zim, and--you know he's an alien?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Wow! And... why am I on your shirt?"  
  
"Hmm...that's a mystery," the girl lied. "I guess the question I have to ask you now is why am I on YOUR shirt?"  
  
"But...you're not on my shirt."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"So, what's it like being the only person who knows that there's an alien in your class?"  
  
"You know he's an alien."  
  
"Well, yes, but I mean before I came into class."  
  
"Frustrating."  
  
"Ah, yes, the frustration of being frustrated. Have you ever gotten so frustrated that you nearly hurled a desk at someone's head?"  
  
"Not really..."  
  
"Hee, hee... that was funny."  
  
"You've actually done it?" No response. He noticed she was suddenly getting pale, and was transfixed in a blank stare. Her eyes opened wider, as though in fear, and she began to shake like being in a cold climate where snow was prevalent. "Mel? Mel, what's wrong? Mel!" Pain shot up through her left arm, and she clutched it with her right hand. She cried out. At this point, Dib was worried. Something was definitely wrong here, very, very wrong.  
  
He noticed that she was falling backward, and tried to catch her, but she struggled against him. Finally, she broke away from him, gasped in terror, and fell backward. Several kids laughed, making jokes about it. Dib, on the other hand, panicked. He'd never seen anything like that, and he checked her pulse. It seemed a little slower, and her face was as white as a ghost.  
  
"Somebody! Get an adult here! Get the paramedics! Quickly!" No one responded, and he decided to take matters into his own hands. Making his way to the popular girls' table, he stole one of their cell phones and dialed 9-1-1. "Hello? I'm at skool, S-K-O-O-L. A girl has just had a seizure or something, and she needs help! Hurry!" Forgetting that it wasn't his phone, he dropped it to the ground and ran back to where Mel lay. She was still unconscious.  
  
Paramedics arrived shortly, and tried to revive her. Within a couple minutes, she awoke, and stood up. Immediately, she toppled back to the ground. "Dib? Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. It's me."  
  
"W-what happened?"  
  
"From what they've told me so far, it seems like you had a seizure. Has this ever happened before?"  
  
"Yes. Quite a bit. Where is everybody?"  
  
"They've gone inside. Recess has been over for three minutes."  
  
"I've been out that long?" He nodded. "Usually it doesn't last that long, or so I've been told..."  
  
"They're going to get you to the hospital. Are you okay with that?" Mel gulped, and shook her head no. "Why not?"  
  
"I-I can't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I...I just can't."  
  
"Don't worry; I'll go with you. Nothing's going to happen to you." One of the paramedics said something inaudible. "What? I can't go in the emergency room with her? Why not?"  
  
"Only family's allowed," he said.  
  
"Oh, well...I am family. I'm her...brother," he lied.  
  
"Well, then, okay."  
  
"See? I'm going to go with you. It'll be okay. Please? It's for your health."  
  
"All right, I'll go." They helped her onto the stretcher, and carted her into the ambulance. Mel suspiciously eyed every medical tool they handled, questioning it. "What's that?!"  
  
"They're just going to measure your blood oxygen," Dib said.  
  
"No needle! No needle!"  
  
"There isn't a needle. It just fits over your finger. See?" He put it on his own finger first, and then handed it to one of the paramedics. "It doesn't hurt."  
  
"Okay." She sighed, trying to relax. Once in the hospital, she became frantic once more. The nurse walked in.  
  
"Okay, now we have to get you into the hospital gown. I'm sure you won't mind your brother being in here while you change." Knowing that he wasn't really her brother, she turned deep red as the nurse started to get her coat off and began to remove her shirt. It dawned on Dib at that moment, and he went behind the curtain. The nurse summoned him back inside when she was changed, and he saw that she was nearly in tears.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"You've got to get me out of here. Please, get me out of here!" She shook him by the coat, terrified.  
  
"They're going to help you. Don't worry."  
  
"I'm fine! I'm fine, I tell you, just weak! I'll be okay!"  
  
"You aren't fine! You were shaking, you went pale, you screamed out in pain, and when I tried to help you so you wouldn't fall, you fought me and hit your head on the pavement! You're lucky you don't need stitches!"  
  
"I...I guess you're right." The nurse walked back in, preparing some needles. "Ahh! Get me away from that! No needles! I can't...I can't..." She struggled, but gave up after a minute or so.  
  
"They're just going to draw some blood. It hardly hurts."  
  
"The left arm! If you're going to take it from me, the left arm!" The nurse found a vein line in her left arm, and got ready to insert the needle.  
  
"Squeeze my hand." Mel didn't squeeze his hand, but instead closed her eyes. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." She felt the needle puncture, and she opened one eye. "See? It doesn't hurt." At long last, they removed the needle and left.  
  
"I'm scared."  
  
"Don't be. Look, it might be awhile, so do you want to read while we wait?"  
  
"Sure. Thanks." He handed her back Alien Update, and she read for about half an hour before the doctor came back. She then had an EKG on the heart, which involved electrodes, and then was taken to get a CAT scan. Mel was set in a wheelchair and taken outside. They then went up an elevator- type platform to a truck where the device was kept. She was instructed to keep as still as possible and she closed her eyes. The sensation of floating overcame her as the table she was on slowly moved backward, and she enjoyed it in spite of the noise. When she was brought back to the wheelchair, Dib talked of the monitor's readings.  
  
"You're brain looked cool."  
  
"Um...thanks...I guess." Soon enough, she was back in the bed she was in, and got another opportunity to read. After an hour or so, she grew tired and set the book down. "So, why don't you tell me what you know about Zim so far?"  
  
"Okay!" He looked as excited as a small child about to receive some ice cream. "First, let me tell you about his base..." She listened to this for a couple hours, until finally she was allowed to go.  
  
"It's 3:45 already?" she asked. Dib nodded. "Boy, time sure flies. Skool is closed right now, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah. We'll have to notify them why we were gone the whole day."  
  
"Better get the doctor's signature."  
  
"Good thinking." They got the signature along with a note, and Mel officially was released. "Can we borrow this wheelchair? I don't want her to faint on the way back."  
  
"Of course. Just return it in a week, or you'll have to pay for it, and wheelchairs ain't cheap."  
  
"We'll keep that in mind." Dib helped her in and walked her outside. "Where's your house?"  
  
"I don't know...I just moved in, and I don't know where anything is in relation to it."  
  
"Do you know the street?"  
  
"I can't remember..."  
  
"That's a problem."  
  
"I'm really thirsty."  
  
"My house is close by. You can have something to drink there."  
  
"Okay. Thanks."  
  
  
  
When people meet, often no one can tell what they will discover as friends. It is unpredictable how their lives will be affected, and it is often frightening how quickly a clear sky can turn into a gray storm cloud and the course of someone's life may be drastically changed.  
  
Life is undoubtedly an unpredictable mechanism.  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.  
  
  
  
Note: I know that in real life they wouldn't have released Mel without a parent, but it's a fanfic, so who cares? 


	2. Abduction

Chapter Two: Abduction  
  
  
  
  
  
Within ten minutes, they reached his house, and Dib got Mel a tall glass of water. She gulped it down at once and set it down on the table ahead of her.  
  
"Better?"  
  
"Very much so."  
  
"So, you...have a history of this?"  
  
"History of what?"  
  
"You were just in the emergency room!"  
  
"Oh, you are referring to THAT...yes, I see. Well, I've had it since January of 2002; it's been a whole year now. I still don't know exactly what it is, but I have reason to believe that...well, call me crazy, but I think it has something to do with alien abduction."  
  
"I don't think you're crazy."  
  
"Didn't really expect you to; just a figure of speech, you know."  
  
"What gives you reason to believe that it was because of aliens?" At first, Mel thought that he did, in fact, doubt her, but dropped the idea when she noted that he was taking out a pen and paper to record her response.  
  
"Well...for one, it didn't start really until about two months after my most recent abduction. Make sure that pen has plenty of ink in it, for I feel a LONG flashback coming on...  
  
"Now, one thing that must be established before I continue is the fact that since I have had an interest in UFOS ever since I can remember, I've had many opportunities to learn about the phenomena. Most of those opportunities have been fulfilled. Aside from the allure of possibly discovering something that no one else has and having the chance to prove that discovery to the world, I've seen UFOS ranging from once when I was four, a possible abduction when I was three turning four, a sighting with my dad when I was about seven, when I was eight, nine, eleven, and especially twelve. My dad has had several experiences with UFOS and the paranormal, including possible abduction, and he is honest, especially with my family.  
  
"Over the years, with finding out about people whispering rumors about me who I thought were my friends and whatnot, I've become quite good at telling whether someone's telling the truth or lying. So, both of us have had experience in determining the reliability and potential authenticity of unusual occurrences.  
  
"As for the experience itself, I was on a website, Fanfiction.Net, to be precise, reading stories written by the fans of a show, which is, sadly, being taken off the air because the show was unfortunate enough to be aired on the Nickelodeon network. So, since the sheets to my bed hadn't been dried, my dad, who hadn't known I was up at 1:00 in the morning until now, put them in the dryer and told me to lie down in his room. I just stood there as he left the room, and felt compelled to look out the bathroom window. The bathroom is right next to my parents' room, by the way. Since I like to document everything potentially significant in my life, (it's a habit I've had since I was ten) I noted that the time was 1:14 AM. I carefully treaded to the bathroom, and looked out the window. I saw nothing at first, but soon saw an oval object illuminated in purplish light. As it grew larger, it became green, and the next thing I knew, I was standing up in the bedroom, a different place than I was before, a different room.  
  
"My dad walked in and told me to get to bed and that he'd called for me to go to bed before, but didn't come inside until now. I glanced at the clock, and it was 2:16 AM. The next morning, I had a peculiar rash on my right arm, what looked like the mark of a needle in my left arm, and a headache; the rash disappeared after about three months. Interestingly, the morning I awoke on Sunday, the 21st, I wrote a story that was 72 pages long about a girl who was abducted by the grays, and they were after her mind. They spoke telepathically with her, and wanted to utilize her for experimentation. It was called 'The Ability', later to be renamed 'The Ability of Many'.  
  
"In addition to this, I must describe what occurred on the Tuesday before, which was the 16th of October, 2001. It was approximately 1:12 - 1:15 PM at my old elementary skool, outside the amphitheater, where the sixth grade classes line up after lunch, awaiting the arrival of the teachers. As I turned my head backward to see if my teacher was coming, for I can't STAND being around my peers for so long without an adult nearby, as usually they ridicule me for being intelligent and seeing past the superficial nature of society and its eventual collapse at the hands of humanity, I saw a silver object hovering in the distance.  
  
"An airport is fairly close by, so I thought that it might just look larger and in an odder shape because of the sun and the distance factor, but as it got nearer, I noticed that it didn't follow any normal flight paths. I look at the sky a lot when I'm bored because the curriculum is FAR too easy, so I get to know these things.  
  
"For a couple minutes, it still hovered behind the trees, but soon emerged. It stopped for a few seconds, and I got a good look at it. It was dome-shaped on the upper portion, and looked similar to the Saturn-shaped UFOS that are seen. However, instead of having a dome-shape on the bottom portion, it slanted inward and had what appeared to be a flat surface, like in a pan. I could provide a drawing for you if you'd like.  
  
"It immediately swerved from its place to behind the trees after I looked at it, and I had a creepy feeling of being observed, and the children at the skool I attended at the time couldn't care less about me, much less bother to watch me or anything of that sort. As I tried to follow it with my eyes when it moved further away, still behind the trees, I noticed that my teacher had arrived already, and that some of the kids were laughing because my class had long passed me by.  
  
"It was at that time, and here's something I normally keep under wraps due to the Hollywood-sounding nature of it, that it flashed a ray of bright light into my eyes directly. Though it was extremely bright, like staring into the sun, it didn't hurt, and my eyes are extremely sensitive to light. I still looked for it on my way to class, where I should see it better, but it was gone without a trace. Whoa, I can't believe I spent that much time just describing a sighting that lasted three minutes!  
  
"So, based upon these facts, do you think it's authentic, or do you think I'm a liar?" When Mel looked up from her feet, she saw that he was frantically trying to copy everything down. "Dib? Uh...are you okay?" He looked up at her.  
  
"What? Oh, sure...well, it seems reasonable enough. Wow...Are you sure you remember this all correctly?"  
  
"I remember it like my own name." There was a pause, while he tried to catch up with his notes. "Dib, have you ever considered hypnosis to try to get your memory back?"  
  
"Memory?"  
  
"You believe you were abducted as a young child, am I right?"  
  
"You're right."  
  
"Hypnosis is oftentimes highly effective in helping possible abductees recount their experiences."  
  
"I haven't really thought about it."  
  
"You should seriously consider. What do you remember?"  
  
"I was in my room...I think I was about three...when I saw a bright, bluish light flood the room. I was curious about it, and I looked out the window. I saw a glowing oval shape grow brighter and larger, and I couldn't move. I was transfixed.  
  
"At that moment, I must've been transported to the ship, because I was lying on a table, and I struggled, but couldn't get free. Then, a female alien walked up to me and told me that it was going to be all right, and that I shouldn't fear them. She said something about me being important, and how I would be missed. She kissed my forehead, and the next thing I knew, it was morning and I was on a coat hook. Strange, huh?"  
  
"No surprise that it was a female. I swear, in almost every report of alien abduction made by a guy, a female is involved, and either they're attracted to them, or they have-"  
  
"I was just three-years-old! Come on! Not EVERY report is like that!"  
  
"Sure, that's your perception."  
  
"You're lucky I called that ambulance; no one lifted a finger to help you but ME, so if I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut!"  
  
"Okay, already; I was just joking! Sorry, Dib, but you took it too hard. No hard feelings?"  
  
"Well...okay. No hard feelings." He crossed his arms, obviously still upset about the whole incident, and had narrow eyes.  
  
"Stop pouting and look at me! Come on, I said I was sorry! I really didn't mean any harm! I didn't mean it. Friends?" She extended her hand out with a smile on her face, and he accepted it.  
  
"Friends."  
  
"Your story is quite intriguing. I'll have to look into it."  
  
"Hungry?"  
  
"Oh, yes, as a matter of fact...I am. Anything worthwhile in that fridge of yours?"  
  
"Not really...just some leftover pizza and some milk...let's see the expiration date...DECEMBER 25, 1984?!" He dropped the carton, causing the cap to fall off and for a waft of eighteen-year-old milk vapor to be released into the air; a thin river of whitish liquid along with a raft of bluish-green mold steadily moved forth. As Dib picked it up and heaved it into the trash, a clump of what used to be milk penetrated the cheap carton and fell through onto the ground. It was like wet clay set out to dry, except that it had dead worms and strange organisms protruding from within and had already been painted revolting shades of puke-yellow and alien-gut- green. Mel walked in and immediately screamed out in horror.  
  
"WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?!"  
  
"Some milk from 1984. I'll heat up some of this pizza."  
  
"Thanks. That is very kind of you. Seriously, though, I've something important to tell you."  
  
"Sure, what is it?"  
  
"Well...I'm not exactly sure how, but...it seems that I've been transported to this reality."  
  
"This reality?"  
  
"Dib, I come from an alternate universe where you are a character in my favorite cartoon show called Invader Zim."  
  
"That explains the shirt..."  
  
"So...what do you think?"  
  
"I don't know. Uh...still want the pizza?"  
  
"Sure, of course! I'm as hungry as a...person who's hungry!"  
  
"All right, then." He fixed the pizza, and Mel got a chance to look around at the place. She inspected it like a museum exhibit, picking up everyday objects and staring curiously at them, and didn't stop until Dib came in with the pizza. "Mel...what are you doing?"  
  
"Uh...just...admiring...the arrangement of artifacts, I mean, objects, and how they are placed around the house; it's very lovely, by the way."  
  
"Uh-huh. Here's the pizza. See you later. I'm going into my room, now."  
  
"What's the rush?"  
  
"I've got...stuff to do."  
  
"What KIND of stuff, exactly?"  
  
"Fate-of-the-world stuff. You know the drill."  
  
"Yeah, sorry, just not used to living in the same town as an alien trying to conquer Earth and an abductee trying to stop him; after all, shouldn't EVERYONE know that you go to your room at precisely 5:30 to save the world each night?"  
  
"Why don't you go read one of your books, or something?"  
  
"Oh, and I suppose that you think that I couldn't save the world if I wanted to, is THAT it? Well? IS that it?! Do you think that reading books and being smart is something to be FROWNED upon, like some grotesque--"  
  
"No, no! I didn't say any of that! You're pulling words from nowhere! I just thought that you'd WANT to read books!"  
  
"And just where did you come to THAT particular assumption? Is it because you think I'm some kind of..." she shuddered, "...some kind of...NERD?!"  
  
"NO! I DIDN'T THINK THAT!"  
  
"What, then? A DORK?! A LONER?!"  
  
"Listen! Just be quiet for a second and listen to me!"  
  
"Fine. I'm listening."  
  
"I don't think any of those things! That's what people think about ME! I don't stoop to that level."  
  
"I don't believe you. I think you're just trying to take advantage the fact that I'm in contact with aliens and know a vast amount more than you about them so you can win a victory for yourself against Zim! I thought you were some kind of HERO! I thought wrong! You only want to defeat Zim for personal gain! You may have saved lives, Dib, but believe me: you are no hero. I always thought that Zim was some kind of doofus, but Dib, YOU are the doofus."  
  
"What, now I'M the doofus? You just yelled and screamed about how you thought that I called you a nerd and a loner, but you're doing that to me! You're a...a hypocrite!"  
  
"What? How DARE you call ME a HYPOCRITE, you...HYPOCRITE!"  
  
"If I'm such a hypocrite, then go find some other place to sleep tonight!"  
  
"Okay, I will. Maybe I'll even go to Zim's house," she said as she opened the door.  
  
"Fine! Don't come crying to me when you're dead!"  
  
"I WON'T!" Mel slammed the door, and Dib sighed in frustration.  
  
"Girls...never can understand them." He turned in early that night, still thinking over what had just occurred. "Why was she so mad at me anyway? I didn't do anything to her. She just started being sarcastic, I suggested reading, and then she screams into my face and says she's going to stay at Zim's house. It doesn't make sense."  
  
  
  
  
  
The sharing of thoughts, ideas, and events can sometimes create an incomprehensible strain on an individual, no matter the nature of the recollection. Some parts of life are easily acceptable by humans, but often those areas are shrouded by delusion, and the propensity of people to simply accept the "easy way out" without any form of investigation into the matter for fear of change or purely because of the foreboding implications it has on humankind.  
  
Fear is the prime-determining factor in human motivation.  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception. 


	3. Morning in the Park

Chapter Three: Morning in the Park  
  
  
  
  
  
Dib awoke with a headache, and then remembered Mel. "Is she still out there? I hope she decided to swallow her pride and come back inside. Yeah, Gaz probably let her in." Hoping to see her wrapped in a sleeping blanket on the couch, he went downstairs. She wasn't there. Gaz walked out.  
  
"What are you doing up so early, Dib? You usually sleep through the whole day, if you can. I can hear your snores."  
  
"Gaz, did you by any chance let in a girl named Mel?"  
  
"Mel? Mel who?"  
  
"She's a girl from skool. Did you hear anyone last night?"  
  
"No." Dib gulped.  
  
"She's still out there." He put on his coat and walked outside, searching the area around the house and up and down the street. She was nowhere to be found. "Mel! Mel, I'm sorry about last night! I didn't mean any of that! I'd be GLAD to have you stay at my house! Mel? Are you here? Can you hear me?" With this being a failure, he searched the nearest areas of the city. Thinking about what she had said, he headed for the residence of the nearest alien.  
  
"What do you want, human? It's 6:30 in the morning!" Zim complained.  
  
"Zim, this is important! Did Mel come over here last night?"  
  
"Who is this 'Mel'? Is she a human?"  
  
"Obviously!" Dib kicked the door closed in his face and ran off, calling her name. After about ten minutes more of unsuccessful searching, he called the police. "Hello? I'd like to file a missing persons report."  
  
"Describe the name, description, and last location seen of the person."  
  
"Her name is Mel, and she's about...oh, 5'8'', has short, brown hair, glasses, was wearing a silver coat along with black pants and a black shirt, and her eyes are brown. Last time I saw her, she was outside at..." he gave his address.  
  
"Age?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"How old is she?"  
  
"About 12, 13, I guess."  
  
"Okay, we'll get right on it."  
  
"Thank you." He hung up and went back outside to look some more. Eventually, he made his way to the city park and sat down on a bench. "Ugh...I'm so STUPID! Why did I have to tell her to find some other place to sleep? Huh? Because I'm an idiot!" Looking up from the snow-covered ground, he saw a figure lying about fifty feet ahead of him, partially concealed by the snow that fell during the night. He noticed that the figure had short, brown hair. "Oh, no..." Slowly, he approached the figure, soon breaking into a run. When at last he stood before her, he confirmed his fear. Mel was lying in the snow, not moving.  
  
"Mel!" He brushed the snow off of her and saw that she was unnervingly pale and limp. Fearfully, he lifted her arm and checked her pulse. There was none. "You're...you're...NOOOO!"  
  
Dib awoke in a sweat, realizing that he was in his own bed. "Was it...a dream? Please, just be a dream..." Glancing at the clock, it read 6:25 AM. "Uh-oh..." Not waiting to check downstairs, he ran into Gaz's room, kicking down the door.  
  
"Gaz! Gaz! Last night, did you let in Mel from the cold?"  
  
"What are you doing up so early, Dib? You usually sleep through the whole day, if you can. I can hear your snores."  
  
"That doesn't matter! Did you let Mel in?"  
  
"Mel? Mel who? You're acting crazier than normal, Dib. You look like you just saw a ghost, which you probably are about to say."  
  
"No time, Gaz! I've got to see if she's all right!" He rushed downstairs and out the door, heading for the park. Caught in a race against time, he desperately combed the park in every nook and cranny, hoping to glimpse her. Not a trace could be found. Dib sighed, regretting his actions.  
  
'I can't just sit around thinking about what I did wrong. I have to find her. She's got to be somewhere around here, hopefully alive.' Without another moment's thought, he went to Zim's house and pounded on the door.  
  
"Zim! Zim! Open up! Please! This is an emergency!"  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
  
"I WILL NOT LEAVE UNTIL MEL'S SAFE!" The door opened a crack, and Zim's undisguised eye peered out. Swiftly and in one motion, Zim threw the door open, pulled Dib in by the collar of his shirt, and slammed the door closed again. As soon as Dib registered what had happened, Zim punched him in the face.  
  
"What's wrong with Mel?!" Zim screeched.  
  
"She's missing, and I thought she might be here."  
  
"Stupid human! She's not here!"  
  
"Can you let me go, then?"  
  
"NO!" Zim threw him to a wall and kicked Dib in the stomach. "She's in serious danger, human."  
  
"Yes, I know that! I've got to go find her! She's still out there, and- -"  
  
"Be silent! She's not on Earth. She's being tested on."  
  
"By you?" Dib pointed a finger at Zim accusingly. (No, not THAT finger).  
  
"Of course not! Mel is the subject of many tests by a certain species called the Falish. They want to alter her mind."  
  
"Oh, no..."  
  
"But they are doing it in a good way. She will have many special abilities and a heightened intelligence."  
  
"Zim, what they're doing isn't helping her! She's having seizures! She's having severe emotional problems, too! That's why she left in the first place!"  
  
"They're working on a hybrid project, and she's apparently their female subject. Some Falish/human hybrid is going to be involved in the tests, too. They'll take DNA from the two subjects and combine them."  
  
"Why do that?"  
  
"Their kind is dying. They can't reproduce, so they're trying to get some human genes, but they're very selective." Dib felt a sharp pain in his left arm. He cried out, and everything went black. "Dib! Dib! Get up, miserable human!" Zim punched him in the jaw, and Dib sat up.  
  
"W-what happened?"  
  
"You just clutched your arm, screamed like a baby, and had a seizure!"  
  
"Oh, no...those are the same things that happened to Mel!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Yesterday, she was in the emergency room because she had a seizure at skool. Zim, am I going to be taken for tests tonight?"  
  
"Most likely. Apparently, you are the other subject."  
  
"You said that a Falish/human and a human are going to be involved. Does this mean that she's a hybrid?"  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"Zim, can you get me to their ship right now, before they take me?"  
  
"I'll run a scan to see if there's a Falish ship nearby...yes, here it is. Hovering above the Earth. Strange that the humans don't pick up on such obvious things."  
  
"Good. Take me there." As these words had been said, they found themselves in the Falish ship. Mel was strapped tightly to a table nearby. "That's fast, Zim; since when did you get a teleporter device to a Falish ship?"  
  
"I...don't HAVE a teleporter to a Falish ship."  
  
"Uh-oh." A female Falen walked to where Dib stood, and put her hand on his shoulder. She had almost grayish skin, large, gray-brown eyes, and had no antennae extending from her slightly-larger-than-normal head. She was clothed in a grayish outfit, and though she had a slit for a mouth, she spoke telepathically.  
  
"It's going to be okay. Don't fear me," she 'said'.  
  
"That's what you said the last time."  
  
"Last time? Eh?" Zim inquired.  
  
"Zim, I know him," she thought to the Irken.  
  
"How?" Zim wondered, confused.  
  
"I am his mother." Dib's jaw opened wide, and she ruffled his hair. With wide-open eyes, he instinctively embraced her. Before he even realized it, some tears fell down his face. He was both happy and saddened, for even though he had finally found out who his mother was, he also found out that he wasn't human. At least, not completely.  
  
Dib looked up at the Falen who he discovered was his mother, and asked, "Is Mel going to be all right?"  
  
"I don't know that. She's ill. We did not expect this reaction. We're doing what we can."  
  
"Wait...if you're my mother...she's completely human, right?" The Falen nodded. "What's your name?"  
  
"The Falish do not normally have names in the sense that you are referring. We can recognize each other by simply detecting their brain wave patterns, much as humanity is beginning to assess. But, as you may not yet be used to that, you may call me 'mother'."  
  
"What's wrong with her?"  
  
"I suppose I cannot hide the truth from you. She's reacting to an injection received in late October 2001. The purpose of the injection was to accelerate her mind growth, which would be necessary. For you see, Dib, our experiments must be completed before she reaches her fourteenth birthday. That's why we've brought you here now: you must be under thirteen."  
  
"Why the age restriction?"  
  
"At this time, your minds can enter a realm where you'll become possibly two of the most intelligent children in this galaxy. However, you need our help."  
  
"What are you doing to stop the seizures?"  
  
"Nothing. She must have them."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"She must have them, or we will be unsuccessful. It is unusual, though. The female subjects have never been known to behave this way."  
  
"It's not right! What's happening to her is dangerous!"  
  
"Your friend will be fine. She must help us, though."  
  
"You can't keep her here!"  
  
"If she does not remain with us, she will die. You must go home now."  
  
"But--"  
  
"You must go now. Your friend will be all right. I will make sure of that. Goodbye. I hope to see you again sometime."  
  
"I...I understand."  
  
"Good. I will try to visit soon." He was beamed back into his own room, and thought about what had just happened.  
  
"I-I-I...I'm not human."  
  
  
  
  
  
When one sees the future through precognition or related phenomena, it is sometimes hard to distinguish whether they truly see across time and space, or if they receive information about how an alternate universe will function and cause them to intentionally or unintentionally change the course of the future. Of course, this goes more into how dreams are potentially affiliated with alternate universes and the famed out-of-body experience, but this is something a bit outside the realm of philosophy, though not something to be dismissed entirely, for one cannot live with philosophy alone, unless incorporating it with every other subject studied. After all, the true dynamics of understanding life--thus approaching philosophy--are all concepts combined into a single train of thought.  
  
"People say that it's good for children to learn from their mistakes. Humanity is full of error--but what exactly have we learned?"  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception. 


	4. A ThreeWay Dispute

Chapter Four: A Three-Way Dispute  
  
  
  
Two weeks had passed since the day Mel had last been taken aboard. Life had suddenly come to a halt and twisted itself upside down for him. Zim had apparently stayed on the ship, for according to his trusty alien- finder device, there wasn't an alien within a hundred mile radius of his house. On top of all this, he was getting sick, and spent most of his time lying in bed, doing nothing.  
  
His UFO magazines hardly interested him at this point, mainly because they were old and repetitive to him, with stories of seeing a UFO hover in the treetops and things that didn't concern him anymore. After all, those sightings were hardly fascinating compared to the fact that his friend was being kept aboard an alien ship along with his Irken nemesis, not to mention the fact that his mother is an alien herself!  
  
None of the usual things that got his mind going about the unexplained were remotely interesting anymore, and he felt alone, bored, and worried. He still had Mel's possessions with him, and they sat dormant in the corner of his room by the door. They looked lonesome by themselves without an owner to enjoy them, and the books seemed to scream out, "Read me!"  
  
If this wasn't enough, he still had the guilt of knowing that he'd left Mel to go outside, alone, on bad terms, and she still didn't know how sorry he was. Nothing was working out right, but he was glad that she wasn't dead in the park, as he'd dreamed.  
  
His stomach churned, and he ran into the bathroom to vomit. However, it was only a false alarm, and he crept back into bed, pulling the covers over him.  
  
Again, no matter how much he tried to divert his mind from the truth he'd learned, it always came back to this thought: 'I'm not human.' It hurt inside him worse than any virus, and there was no cure or medicine to deal with truth. He wondered why it had to be him. The one person dedicated solely to keeping the human race safe from alien invasion was he, and yet he was not even human.  
  
How would Mel react to that? Would she still be his friend, or would she think he was some kind of hideous creature as he saw Zim to be?  
  
"I AM a hideous creature. I'm a monster from outer space. It's no wonder I don't have friends; I don't deserve friends." He still didn't know if he was completely alien or just a hybrid, but to him it didn't really matter. "An alien is an alien; it makes no difference for me."  
  
Wondering these things, he looked up at the stars, and hoped that one would move and take Mel back. 'I have to know.' Every night since his most recent encounter he had watched the sky from 9:00 at night to 1:00 in the morning. It was almost 1:00 now; his 70th hour of watching drew nearer. Suddenly, one of the stars did move, and it wasn't just the Earth spinning. It grew brighter and brighter, faster and faster, and a bluish light flooded his room. Behind him, a gentle voice called his name.  
  
"Mother!" Dib was surprised, for he had been hoping for Mel. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
"I promised I would visit."  
  
"Please, tell me. Is Mel okay?"  
  
"Not exactly."  
  
"Not exactly?"  
  
"There are some problems, some difficulties we've encountered."  
  
"What type?"  
  
"She's in extreme pain. She has a rash all over, and is reacting negatively with the serum we gave her to reduce the discomfort."  
  
"You've got to pull her out of there! We need to get her to a hospital!"  
  
"Dib, that will not work."  
  
"Yes, it will! You've got to trust me! They'll know what to do!"  
  
"They won't. She's in such a condition that...she can't recover."  
  
"What?! She's dead?!"  
  
"No. She just won't ever recover."  
  
"No! Make her recover! You did this to her, now undo it!"  
  
"We can't."  
  
"Why not?!"  
  
"If we remove the objects inserted into her, she'll die."  
  
"Make her live! Make her live, right now!" Dib shook the alien being that was his mother, and she began to cry. Carefully putting her arms around him, she lifted him up.  
  
"I'll try...I'll try...I'm so sorry for all that I've put you through."  
  
"You never should've had me. I'm just miserable."  
  
"I know you are, but things will get better. I promise."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I just know. Believe me, Dib. My only son."  
  
"I don't know if I can."  
  
"Even if you are not human, you may still call Earth your home. You love this planet more than anything, and so long as you do, you may still say you are human. I will forgive you if you should decide to forget about us and live as a human. I can help you forget, if you wish." Dib considered this, but then refused.  
  
"No. I must know."  
  
"Good for you. 'The path of ignorance is a tempting road, but the path of knowledge is still more tempting.' I am glad you chose not to forget me."  
  
"I still can't call myself human."  
  
"Yes, you can. You've been calling yourself human for all your life, and you are still the same person. If you want to be human, that's what you are. You're my precious human."  
  
"Thanks...what about Mel? You said that she was beyond recovery. What are we going to do?"  
  
"If you wish, I'll return her to you."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Would you like now?"  
  
"Yes, please."  
  
"I will leave her well-being in your hands." She motioned Dib to get off the bed, and he stood. In a moment, Mel was lying there. Dib tried to communicate by the Falen telepathic method, and succeeded in saying, "Thank you." He turned to Mel, and saw that his mother had left. However, a message remained in his mind:  
  
'It is up to you to tell her that you are an alien. If you do not tell her and wish to keep it a secret, though, it will cost you friendship.'  
  
Dib saw Mel wake up, and got her a wet washcloth, for she had a very high fever. She began to cough, but it soon subsided, and she fell asleep. 'Should I really tell her?' Dib thought. 'I just know that she'll think I'm a monster...I can't afford to lose her friendship. My mom warned me that it would cost me friendship, but I don't know...' He went downstairs and slept on the couch, thinking about what to do when morning came.  
  
Morning. Dib awoke by Gaz pouring soda up his nose, and went upstairs to check on Mel. "Hey, Mel, how are you? Feeling better?" She nodded, and Dib sat on the edge of the bed, thinking, 'She's so lucky...she's human. She doesn't have to worry about confessing that she's an alien...'  
  
"Dib?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you have something you want to tell me?"  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"It's something that the aliens did to me...so, what is it?"  
  
"I'm not sure if I should..."  
  
"Is it important?"  
  
Dib paused. "Yes."  
  
"Please tell me."  
  
"I...I can't."  
  
"Why not? I'm you friend, aren't I? I promise to keep it a secret, if you want."  
  
"You may not want to be friends with me when you hear about this."  
  
"What, did you do something wrong?"  
  
"No, it's not that..."  
  
"Did you hurt somebody?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Do you have a crush on me?"  
  
"No...it's just...I can't really explain."  
  
"If it isn't any of those, I don't see how it could really affect my perception of you. You're my friend, right?"  
  
"All right, I'll tell you. But please, promise not to be afraid."  
  
"Afraid? Why would I be afraid? You're harmless."  
  
"Mel, I'm...I'm a...I'm an...an alien."  
  
"You're a WHAT?!" She cowered back a little, her eyes wide in shock.  
  
"AN ALIEN! A HIDEOUS CREATURE!"  
  
"What are you talking about; you're not a hideous creature! And you're most certainly not an alien! That's ridiculous!"  
  
"Please, believe me. I am."  
  
"But...you can't...you look just like other humans...I know you are human. I can sense it."  
  
"I'm not human. That female alien in that ship you were in is my mother."  
  
"Dib, I can tell that you're human. There's no doubt about it."  
  
"You MUST believe me! PLEASE! I'm an alien! I don't want to admit it, but it's TRUE! When have I been wrong?"  
  
"I don't know. I'll trust you, though."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Why are you sad?"  
  
"Because I'm a filthy alien."  
  
"Dib, you are not filthy! You smell fine! What is the big deal?! Well, yeah, I know the obvious, but it shouldn't matter to you! You're the same person as you've always been. You know, just because someone's an alien doesn't mean that they're some kind of horrible monster. I don't think that you realize that. I mean, what if I suddenly said that I was an alien? Would you suddenly think I was some kind of monster?"  
  
"No, of course not! You can't help it if you are!"  
  
"You see? All of that was for nothing. Now, let's get something to eat."  
  
"You look a lot healthier now."  
  
"Yeah...they fixed me up last night. They've taken what they need, so we can now move on with our lives. I'll sleep much easier tonight."  
  
"Me too." The rest of the day went smoothly, and Dib forgot all about the stomach virus he had. However, around 9:00, Mel was about to disturb the peace.  
  
"Dib, I have to be perfectly honest about something here."  
  
"Sure. What is it?"  
  
"You see...I...well...it's something the aliens told me. I'm human, rest assured, but...I won't live that long."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll only live for a few more months, at most. I want to get in touch with my family in another reality and tell them that I want to live in this one, so they won't know that I'll die."  
  
"No. That won't be necessary. You're not going to die."  
  
"It's inevitable. It's a side-effect of one of the operations performed on me."  
  
"I...I can't believe that you're...you're going to..."  
  
"...die?" Highly distraught, he picked up her hand, squeezing it tightly.  
  
"You aren't going to die."  
  
"How would you know?"  
  
"I don't know how I know. I just know it." He stared at her, as though expecting to see some change occur. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, I...feel a lot better, actually. Thanks. It's nice having a friend that makes me feel better." She pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose, and saw something happen to her arm. "Wait, what's this?" The flaked skin from a rash she'd received as a result of her encounters healed back. A little paper cut on the tip of her right index finger mended itself as well. "Wow. Is that something you're...known to do?"  
  
"No...must be something I've had for a while, though. Strange how it just reawakened right now."  
  
"Yeah...weird."  
  
"So...want to go watch Mysterious Mysteries?"  
  
"Sure, why not?" She stood, and they didn't move for a few seconds. "Last one down there is a rotten abductee!" Mel looked at the door, and it opened. Quickly, she began to run down the stairs.  
  
"Hey, no fair!" Dib tried to dash out of his room, but the door slammed in his face. He threw the door open and slid on the banister to the ground. She was still ahead. Concentrating hard, Dib made her float into the air, and she couldn't move. Laughing a little 'victory laugh', Dib jumped on the couch and turned the television set on. The opening credits were just beginning.  
  
"Dib, let me down!"  
  
"Better talk nicely to me, or you'll have to watch it from the air!"  
  
"No way! You'd better let me down, this instant!"  
  
"Are you SURE about that?"  
  
"Of course I'm--no, wait Dib, don't let me fall! Please?"  
  
"Well..." Dib jotted something down on notebook paper. He floated it up to her, and she took it.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
"Read it."  
  
"WHAT?! NO WAY, I WOULDN'T READ THIS IF--"  
  
"Read it."  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Read it, or I'll make you plummet..."  
  
"Geez, Dib, I never knew you could be so EVIL..."  
  
"Don't forget to shout loud enough so the WHOLE neighborhood can hear!"  
  
"Don't push it, or you'll be SCREAMING loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear."  
  
"Read it."  
  
"Ahem...DIB IS NOT CRAZY...though I wouldn't be so sure after writing this...AND HE IS SO...SO...I can't say it, Dib. This is incredibly lame."  
  
"Say it, over again."  
  
"DIB IS NOT CRAZY AND HE IS SO...SO...SO...AND HE IS SO...FREAKING...HOT!"  
  
"Again!"  
  
"DIB IS NOT CRAZY AND HE IS SO FREAKING HOT! If anyone hears this, you're DEAD!" Gaz walked in, after Dib requested hearing it one more time. "DIB IS NOT CRAZY AND HE IS SO FREAKING HOT!" Gaz raised an eyebrow and left the room. Dib let her down, and she tore the paper to shreds. Seething in anger, she leapt at him, knocking him off the couch. "YOU ARE DEAD!" Mel began to strangle him, and as he started to turn blue, she let go.  
  
"Sorry, it was...just a joke." He tried to act innocent and gave that innocent smile he gave Gaz sometimes.  
  
"A joke? A JOKE! YOU JUST HAD ME SCREAM OUT AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS THREE TIMES THAT YOU ARE 'SO FREAKING HOT'! IS THAT A JOKE?!"  
  
"Sorry...you didn't really have to say it; I wouldn't have let you fall."  
  
"Had I known that, it would've saved you from a week's worth of torment!" Mel pulled him up by the shirt collar and threw him to the wall. "Don't you EVER do that, AGAIN!" Dib started to laugh.  
  
"And just WHAT do you find so FUNNY, Mr. 'I have psychokinetic powers and can do whatever I feel like to manipulate people'?"  
  
"Nothing, it's just that...nah, I probably shouldn't say."  
  
"What is it, DIB?"  
  
"It's just that...It's just that...It's just that you look funny when you're angry."  
  
"Oh, and I suppose you'll think that THIS is funny when I throw it into your face?" Mel made her hand into a fist and waved it in front of Dib's nose. "I've given people bloody noses and one-way tickets to the hospital with this fist. Don't think I'm so funny when I'm mad, now do you?" Dib gulped and shook his head no.  
  
"I didn't know you were so violent."  
  
"I'm not REALLY violent. Just a little." Silence. "It's a joke. Get it?"  
  
"Yeah. Mysterious Mysteries is halfway over, though."  
  
"Forget about it; it's the Chickenfoot episode. Why don't we go into the kitchen, now?"  
  
"The kitchen? Why?"  
  
"You shall soon see. Whew, that's a tongue twister! Come along!" She yanked him forth, and they went into the kitchen. "I have something important to tell you."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes. Really."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's about...well, me. I...I kind of have a confession to make. That message you had me write: well, about it..."  
  
"Mel, are you saying that you..."  
  
"Yes, Dib. That's precisely what I'm saying."  
  
"Then you mean..."  
  
"Yes. I mean every unspoken word."  
  
"You mean that you think that I'm 'so freaking hot?'"  
  
"NO! I meant that the message was stupid! Geez, you're too hopeful."  
  
"Hopeful? What do you mean by that?"  
  
"You were hoping that I meant that!"  
  
"No I wasn't, I--"  
  
"Quiet! You see, I am...I am..."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I can't tell you. I must leave."  
  
"What? Don't go!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You're my friend! I'm worried! First, you're in the emergency room, then you're abducted by aliens, and now all this conflict! I can't let you go out alone!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I had this dream, and you were missing, and I looked for you, I even filed a missing persons report, and then I found you in the park...dead."  
  
"That's horrible. I can see why you'd be concerned, but you must trust me. I'll be back soon."  
  
"No. I can't let you."  
  
"This dream...how did I die?"  
  
"You were lying in the snow, and you had died because of the cold."  
  
"I won't let that happen."  
  
"Mel, you CAN'T!"  
  
"You can't stop me!"  
  
"Yes I can!"  
  
"How?"  
  
"What's something that you would NEVER want to happen?"  
  
"Hmm...I don't think I'll tell you, or you'll use it against me."  
  
"Well, then I'll take something I know for sure would affect you...if you leave alone, I...I'll kill myself."  
  
"You wouldn't really do that, Dib. I know you too well."  
  
"Just watch me." Dib pulled out a knife from the drawer, a sharp, shimmering butcher knife. He held it, hovering, right by his heart. "If you step out of this kitchen, I'll thrust it into me. I'm serious about this. Stay here with me, or I'll have to leave."  
  
"Put that down, Dib. Put it down; I'll stay here with you. Just put it down."  
  
"Okay. And don't go running off into the night, either. I'll still have this knife and others hidden that you wouldn't be able to find."  
  
"I won't." He set it on top of the table, and it clanked noisily on a plate that had been left there. "Just promise you won't use that or any other weapon on yourself."  
  
"I promise." Mel was truly scared. She had a friend who was potentially suicidal, and she'd never been in that situation before.  
  
'I only pray that he doesn't develop a kind of a crush on me...that would severely worsen the situation. After discovering that he's an alien, a rejection might be fatal.'  
  
  
  
  
  
There is much more to understanding of the human mind than simply electro- magnetic pulses and psychological reactions. To truly begin to understand the mind's functions, one must delve into the physical world around us. Doing so, we find that there is not an explanation for everything of our minds in the world as we know it. We encounter that there are two obvious explanations to account for that which we think "missing" -- it might be due to parts of the brain we have not yet begun to assess, and it may very well be due to another plane of existence resting parallel to our own, perhaps even unimaginable quantities--both of which seem likely under thorough study.  
  
For everything that we do not know, we either make up an explanation or pretend to understand the greater reality at hand.  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception. 


	5. Nighttime Fears

Chapter Five: Nighttime Fears  
  
  
  
  
  
Dib now insisted that she move her sleeping bag into his room so he could keep an eye on her, and she was partially glad for this. That way she could discreetly monitor him for any signs of suicidal traits. As far as she could tell, though, apart from that time in the kitchen, he was perfectly normal. But, of course, many times people don't see the signs until it's too late.  
  
11:30. Mel was thirsty. She didn't want to wake Dib up in the middle of sleep, but she didn't want him to wake up on his own and have something horrible happen to him. So, she tugged on his sleeve from her spot on the floor and whispered, "Dib, wake up! I'm thirsty." He just turned over in his sleep, and didn't respond. She tried several times more, but it was to no avail. "Fine. I'll go without you." When she returned, he was dreaming pleasantly, most likely about being a famous paranormal investigator. "Goodnight, Dib."  
  
12:00. Once again, Mel had insomnia, and couldn't handle being dormant for so long. So, instead, she sat awake, silently thumbing through some of Dib's magazines. Sometimes they were cool, but most of the time, they looked like they were written by nuts. A light flashed outside, and she peered out the window. A marvelously crafted UFO with purple and red lights that flashed in a complex pattern hovered above the neighbor's house. This was something worthwhile, and she had to wake up Dib. Perhaps a glass of water was too little to perturb him from slumber, but surely this would be excused.  
  
"Dib! Dib! Wake up, Dib!" She shook him furiously, and he woke up, startled.  
  
"What is it?!" He jumped out of bed and tripped over her sleeping bag.  
  
"Dib, there's a giant UFO hovering above the house next door!" she breathed euphorically. He made a grab for his glasses and set them on his nose. The lights flashed more brilliantly, and the craft itself glowed blue. Then, it vanished from sight. Not a trace was left.  
  
"Too bad we didn't get a picture of it."  
  
"Yes, it is too bad. But let's get some sleep now."  
  
"Yeah." Dib climbed under the covers, and soon fell sound asleep. However, Mel had to use the restroom. Not wishing to disturb him from his sleep, she didn't notify him. After all, what could he do but stand and wait outside? What was the worst that could happen?  
  
When she was about to leave and go back into the sleeping bag, she saw the UFO again, only it appeared to grow larger as it came closer. A beam of blue and white light was shot into her eyes, and she tried to scream out to someone, but couldn't. She was gone.  
  
12:40. Dib awoke, feeling very strange. It was as though he'd just come from a nightmare, but he couldn't remember any bad dreams. Looking over to his left, he noticed that Mel was gone. He darted out of his room and began searching the house, calling her name. No response. Daring to check Gaz's room, he knocked, but was greeted by his sister's harsh growl. In spite of this, he kicked the door down and got beaten up. As soon as he got away, he started to head back to his room to check once more. It was then that he noticed the bathroom door was closed.  
  
'Maybe she's just in the bathroom. Yeah, that's probably it.' He knocked loudly and shouted, "Mel! Mel, are you in there? Mel?" Nothing. "Mel! Are you okay? I'm going to have to come in! One...two...three...I'm coming in!" Opening it slowly, he looked for any sign that she was there. He found her glasses at his feet, but nothing more was to be found.  
  
"Something bad must've happened to her if she left her glasses...she can't see three feet in front of her without them." Terror-stricken, he ran down the stairs and outside. He searched for her up and down the streets for a mile radius. Not a trace. He left no stone unturned. Not a clue. It was now about 4:30; he'd expanded beyond this perimeter and looked more than once in each spot. Finally, he found himself at the gates of the city park. Eyes open wide in fear, he climbed the locked gates and tore through the area, screaming out her name.  
  
"MEL! MEL! ARE YOU HERE?! ANSWER ME!" He sat on a bench, and began to think. "What could've happened? Someone must've snuck in the house somehow and took her...but how? Why didn't I hear? Why?!" The ground was covered with frost and snow, and he saw a figure ahead of him. "No! No, Mel, don't be dead!" As soon as he saw her dark, brown hair come into view amidst the snow and dewy blades of grass, he knew that it was Mel, just like in the dream.  
  
Too frightened to say anything, Dib turned her over on her back. Timidly, he checked her pulse. It was low, but...still there! "You're...you're alive. You're alive!" She was blue with cold, but she was alive! Dib brushed some of the snow off of her, fit her glasses on her, and picked her up. Setting her on the bench, he tried to think of what he could do to warm her, and then remembered his coat. Placing it on her, he looked hopeful of her recovery.  
  
An hour later, around 5:30 in the morning, her eyes opened. Dib, who was rather tired, saw this and helped her upright. She pulled away from him in terror, and yelled out.  
  
"Who are you?!"  
  
"What do you mean? I'm Dib. Don't you remember me?"  
  
"What are you talking about; I've never known anyone named Dib in my entire life! What kind of joke is this, anyway?"  
  
"No joke. Mel, are you kidding around with me? Because if you are, it's not funny. I mean that."  
  
"Leave me alone! Where am I?"  
  
"Oh, no...I think you have amnesia. Are you sure you aren't joking?"  
  
"Of course I'm sure!"  
  
"Why don't you come with me? Come on, we can watch Mysterious Mysteries. I'll pick out a special episode especially for you."  
  
"What's Mysterious Mysteries?"  
  
"You don't remember that either?"  
  
"Apparently I don't."  
  
"And what about aliens?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Do you remember your alien abductions?"  
  
"What, are you crazy enough to believe in that stuff, kid?"  
  
"Oh, no...something really bad must've happened to you." Dib took her hand, and she pushed him, making him fall backward to the ground. He got up, thoroughly concerned.  
  
"I can help you. Just come back home. Take my hand. Trust me." She did, and they immediately found themselves aboard a spaceship, this time the Falish ship. "Mom! What's happened to her?!" Dib cried out.  
  
"Someone's surgically removed the enhancements given to her and erased her memory, including brainwashing."  
  
"Can you save her?"  
  
"Of course. We have planned for this." His mother withdrew a needle. "You give it to her. She'll trust you more."  
  
"She doesn't really trust me at this stage."  
  
"All right, then. I'll do it. She sees me as a human nurse. That's how humans without the enhancements see me." His mother approached Mel and administered the injection. "It's good that they removed her fear of inoculations as well, or this might've gotten difficult."  
  
"So she's going to be okay?"  
  
"Yes. She'll fall asleep within a minute. You'll have to make sure that she's asleep for at least three hours so it'll take effect."  
  
"Okay." He lifted her, and was transported back into his room. Dib allowed her to sleep in the bed, and stayed awake for the next three hours.  
  
9:00. Mel began to wake up, and complained of aching. She sat up slowly, and saw him nodding off in a chair next to her. He had a book with him, Alien Update, and was pretty far in it. Seeing that he was in desperate need of sleep, she handed him a pillow and took the book, setting it down on the nightstand. Dib clutched the pillow and began to snore.  
  
It was too pitiful a sight to leave. She awoke him slightly, and he drowsily got into his own bed. When she left, she saw something startling. The knife was out, and a small trickle of blood was stained on it. Going back to where he lay, she lifted the sleeves to his shirt, and, sure enough, saw a fine line of dried blood on his left wrist. Feeling the worst pity and utmost horror, she stayed beside him at the side of the bed.  
  
'Why would he do that? Why?'  
  
He stirred.  
  
"Dib? Whether you can hear me or not, I'm going to tell you something very important. No matter what, we'll still be friends. I don't care if you're an alien or whatever; it's not worth killing yourself. If a friend is all you really need, then I see a long life ahead of you." She held his hand and thought to herself, 'I guess no one really knew what thoughts ticked inside of Dib Membrane...' Twitching a little, he took her hand. "Good morning, Dib. How would you like to watch Mysterious Mysteries?"  
  
He smiled, and opened his eyes. "Sure."  
  
  
  
  
  
It is unpredictable what we may do in response to what we think as the unthinkable. In such cases of abnormal reactions, one must know that the person is apparently undergoing great stress and requires the greatest help possible to give--a friend.  
  
People often misinterpret the extreme positive effect on people that a friend brings--but more often they ignore the extreme negative effect on people that unkindness or harsh words bring.  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception. 


	6. Surveillance Spectrum

Chapter Six: Surveillance Spectrum  
  
It was now another skool day, and the children attending Ms. Bitters's class slowly filed in. Zim, however, remained missing. To pass the time during the boring lectures, Dib and Mel spoke to one another telepathically.  
  
"Isn't today boring?" Mel 'asked'.  
  
"Yeah...I wonder what Zim is up to."  
  
"You always think about aliens!"  
  
"Not always!"  
  
"Oh, sure you do. What else do you draw all day long on your papers?" Dib lifted a worksheet, which was covered with sketchy depictions of Zim during an autopsy. "Since you're an alien, isn't it ironic how you've always dreamed of aliens on an autopsy table?"  
  
"If you want to bring it up." Dib looked irritated.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot how sensitive you are about it." Ms. Bitters noticed the 'silent conversation', and they stopped. Everything was awkward from that point on. During lunch, Dib sat alone, away from Gaz and Mel. Not able to stand the sight of the skool cafeteria food, she decided to heave it into some popular girl's face. 'Yeah...that's a plan.' Heading for the popular girls' table, Mel grinned evilly.  
  
"Hey, you loser, why don't you go find some loser friends?" They cackled moronically, and she tried to keep a straight face as she thought of their impeding doom.  
  
"Well, you'd better stop relying on looks for companionship, because one hit with this slop they try to pass off as food and you're face will burn right off! So...who wants to be first?" They cowered back, and she enjoyed every moment of it. "Hmm...eenie, meenie, minie, moe, which is the first popular girl to go?" She thrust it into the face of the blond-haired girl. She screamed.  
  
"My face! My face! My beautiful face! AHHHH!"  
  
"You're going DOWN!" Mel kicked a nearby table on its side, tossing six more trays into six more girls' faces. "I feel like going on a stuck-up popular girl horror spree! Hee, hee!"  
  
"Wait!" She was surprised to hear Dib speak. "Wait! Mel, don't take out your anger on these...horrible people. They haven't done anything to you personally!"  
  
"Are they ignorant and stupid?"  
  
"Well...yes, but...that's not the point! The point is that you're angry with me, so hit me."  
  
"I'm not angry at you! I'm fed up with ignorance and stupidity! You're my friend. My friends should not worry about me, for I am harmless to them. I never throw a punch at my friends. I might strangle you, though." They laughed, and the cafeteria havoc was forgotten.  
  
"Can't really eat right now...where do you want to go?"  
  
"Point Pleasant." They walked into the library, Dib still theorizing about Zim's 'evil doom plans' for Earth.  
  
Friday afternoon. The end of the week had come sooner than expected, and Zim was still nowhere to be found. Dib was talking with Mel on the way home, mostly about Zim.  
  
"...And it seems that he's working on some kind of project to blow up the world!"  
  
"Hmm...fascinating. But why do you suppose that there's a monkey involved?"  
  
"His insane robot likes monkeys."  
  
"Ah! Yes...indeed, he does." There was a loud screeching noise as a black Cadillac turned the corner sharply, and some darts were shot from a tranquillizer gun. They ducked, for they were the targets. Just as they thought it was safe once more, the vehicle made its way back, this time shooting real bullets. They narrowly escaped, the bullets missing them by inches. The car turned the corner and sped off, never to be seen again.  
  
"What was that about?!" Dib started to get up.  
  
"Stay down! The coast may not be clear just yet!" They stayed there for several minutes more, trying to be as silent as possible. All was quiet; not a sound could be heard for miles except their furiously beating hearts. When at last they felt it safe enough to stand, they made a run for Dib's house. Slamming the door behind them, they headed his room, feeling more secure behind two locked doors. As soon as they had closed the door, a shot rang out and shattered the window, leaving his room blanketed in deadly shards of splintered glass. Though the bullet had evaded them, their faces and hands, both being exposed to the air, had been sliced by a volley of miniature knives. Blood was splattered in numerous places, and the ear- splitting ruckus had perturbed some latent creatures of which hid below his bed. Scorpions and tarantulas piled out from under, all poised to strike.  
  
"Uh...Mel? Do you get the feeling that someone's trying to kill me?"  
  
"Yeah, I'd say so. RUN!" They ran out of the room and closed the door behind them. "Let's hide in this closet." Darting into the closet, which was draped in shadows, they got the feeling that someone, something was watching them.  
  
"It's...kind of crowded in this closet, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, a little...but a little discomfort is better than death, right?"  
  
"Man, Mel...I never noticed that your hand is so rough and prickly."  
  
"My hand is not prickly, you doofus!"  
  
"If that's not your hand...what am I holding?"  
  
"Let's turn on a light." They felt for a light switch, and finally came across one. "I found it!" The closet was suddenly flooded with yellowish light. Dib looked down and saw what he was holding.  
  
It was a prickly pear: the fruit of a cactus. "Whew! I thought it was something deadly!" Dib took her hand, and she shouted out in pain.  
  
"Ouch! These things hurt, you know!" With her unaffected hand, she began to remove the small little needles. "Yikes! OW! Thanks a lot, Dib! First someone tries to kill you and I almost get shot, and now this! Oh, what a PLEASANT afternoon!" she said sarcastically.  
  
"Hey, it's not MY fault!"  
  
"Dib..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Stop touching my head, or you'll be dead. See, I'm an excellent poet. Now stop playing with my hair."  
  
"I'm...not playing with your hair."  
  
"Oh, good, it must just be a spider."  
  
"A SPIDER! Mel, get if off of you!"  
  
"What, it's just a little spider."  
  
"Not if it's a black widow! Those things are deadly, and you know how *lucky* we've been today!"  
  
"Ah! Swat it!"  
  
"Then you'll have spider guts on your head."  
  
"I'll wash it out later, just kill it, you imbecile!"  
  
"All right, all right!" He slapped her head, and the crawling stopped.  
  
"That hurt! You hit me harder than necessary, you know!"  
  
"Hey, I just saved you from a black widow, so you should be thanking me!"  
  
"Okay. Thank you, Dib." Mel bopped him on the head, but pricked herself on his hair. "Geez, Dib, your head is an arsenal! A sharp one, too."  
  
"And that's why I have a high IQ."  
  
"Hey, you're catching on with the rhyming."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"Never mind. I think I can come out of the closet, now."  
  
"I never knew that you...had those preferences. Not that there's anything wrong with that!"  
  
"Not that there's anything wrong with that! Hey!" (Author's Note: How very true.) They stumbled out into the hallway, hoping that the madness would stop.  
  
"What do you think this is all about?"  
  
"I dunno..." Mel panted, "...but it's something pretty serious. Have you by any chance broken federal law lately?"  
  
"No...have you?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Then what's this about?"  
  
"I just told you I don't know! What if there's a price on our heads?!"  
  
"I don't think the government would openly put a price on a couple of kids...would they?"  
  
"I guess not...Wait, we've been kinda obvious about our psychokinesis and telepathy and...stuff... Do you think it could be about that? I mean, your father is with the government, right?"  
  
"Yeah, he's the top scientist."  
  
"Then maybe surveillance has been installed to monitor things. You know, to make sure he isn't giving information about top secret projects."  
  
"Wait...if they installed surveillance, does that mean they know about- -"  
  
"Yes, Dib. I'm afraid they must. You've always wanted to capture an alien for an alien autopsy. Now it looks like the hunter has become the hunted."  
  
  
  
  
  
It is often that fear brings people closer together, and with friendship comes a break from the fear, as things are put into their proper perspective. Fear becomes humor, but it doesn't seem to last. There always is the end to all happy and sad times--this is known. What is not known is if this swift passing and changing of emotions follow us after we die. In other words, we fear death being the same as life, and thus prolong what may be a terrifying existence due to the worst emotion next to hate.  
  
Fear can be coped with in humans, but hate is unacceptable and will result in a quicker, yet more painful downfall to our species in self-ruination.  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.  
  
Note: If you didn't understand the reference to Point Pleasant, then I'll tell you that it has to do with the Mothman incident. The town is called Point Pleasant. Just to let you know! 


	7. The Irken, the Human

Chapter Seven: The Irken, the Human  
  
  
  
Note: During this chapter, a word will appear that you will not recognize. That is because the definition is given below:  
  
Old Language*--A language that many species of aliens (including the grays, the Falish, and several others) used to communicate before mastering telepathy.  
  
  
  
Zim awoke, in a daze. He had been kept forcibly on the Falish ship for weeks now, being experimented on. After much abuse, he'd lost the green in his skin in trade for a pale blue, and he looked very weak. His crimson eyes glowed menacingly and looked as though they could penetrate lead with their hard, persistent glare.  
  
At the hands of the Falish, his fate was nearly sealed. However, no matter how bleak or concrete his suffering seemed, he would NEVER accept death as unavoidable. The Dib hadn't succeeded in getting him on an autopsy table, but his mother had. It was scheduled for the upcoming Tuesday. For now, they gave him severe electric shocks, killing him slowly so as to make sure that he'd be dead within the next four days. They were literally draining the life out of him.  
  
"You," Zim muttered as Dib's mother walked by to check up on how far the process had come along. "You...ika!" 'Ika' is a word that, when addressing a Falen, is derogatory. Its literal translation is 'squid', from which the Falish originated. Calling a Falen 'Ika' would probably be close to the equivalent of saying 'ape', though it is considered more offensive, like calling someone a monster.  
  
"Ika, am I? Zim, I've known what you've been doing on Earth. You idiotic tokage!" 'Tokage', to the Irkens, holds a similar meaning. "You've tried to devastate the planet Earth and attempted to kill my only son countless times! Don't think you can escape my knowledge! I can sense your fear, Zim. Your memories you bring back to your conscious mind for recollection come to me as well. You fear what you've feared this whole time. You fear death, Zim."  
  
"No! No Irken invader fears death!"  
  
"Then what do you propose you fear?"  
  
"My mission's failure!"  
  
"Zim, there never was a mission. Admit it: you're a laughingstock. Look at me!" Zim did, and knew with utter certainty that she was right. The Falish had the incredible ability to probe into a creature's deepest hidden thoughts they weren't consciously aware of and bring them out into the open, and at sight of their immensely mysterious gray-brown eyes one can tell if they are lying or speaking absolute truth.  
  
"I will never allow you to destroy me with your pitiful mind tricks."  
  
"But you already have. You scowl at me in resistance, and yet you weep with self-pity on the inside."  
  
"You are mistaken. I do not weep inside me. I'm afraid that your Falish senses are beginning to weaken. I can tell: it is YOU who is weeping inside, and has chosen to interrogate me for the sole purpose of seeing me suffer to make yourself feel like you've done something productive. You want to avenge Dib in order to relieve yourself of your sadness. That, my Falen friend, is exactly right, and you know it. Do not deny the truth."  
  
"I admit it, Zim. You are correct in your thinking. But do you know what my son's name means in the Old Language*?"  
  
"No. What?" Zim asked sneeringly.  
  
"It means 'One Who Sees'. This is an odd coincidence, ignorant tokage, for he was the only one to see through your pitiful disguise."  
  
"You have changed the subject. What do you fear?"  
  
"I fear for my son. They are hunting him down, and he is in grave danger. Zim, I will soon give them this message I give you: There will be two injuries and a death among you three. It is a message that I received through a vision, and that is why I must make sure that you die. If I do not have you killed, either my son or his dearest and only friend will die. I cannot have either. You must die."  
  
"The Tallest would never have it. Even if they don't care about me anymore, they would be outraged at such an infringement."  
  
"We've already contacted your rulers. They are fine with it, and told me that they figured you were a defective anyway." Zim gasped. "It seems we're ahead of schedule. Your autopsy will begin in a couple hours, and I will invite my son to watch you die."  
  
Zim waited apprehensively for the next couple of hours, still slowly dying, and soon Dib was brought into the room. Mel waited behind.  
  
"Who does it look like won, ZIM? Finally, I get to see you scream in pain as you admit failure. And, best of all, I've got my camera, and Mel has agreed to videotape the whole thing! Well, see ya!" He turned and headed for the observation room to wait a couple minutes more.  
  
"Dib-worm!" Dib swerved around.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked irritably.  
  
"I will live through this. The autopsy will be delayed unless you do something, but I won't tell you what it is. And, if the autopsy is delayed, your precious Mel will die, and I will go free."  
  
"How should I believe that?"  
  
"If you value her life, you will."  
  
"Why did you just tell me that, then?"  
  
"Because you are far too slow to figure out WHAT to do, and you'll know long before it happens that her death will occur, and it will be very painful. I'll let you think about that." Dib left, and told Mel what he had said. They shrugged it off, and entered the room once more. A laser beam was concentrated at Zim's head, preparing to kill him.  
  
"There will be a delay, due to difficulties with the laser. Please wait patiently," a voice said. Dib gasped, and rushed Mel out of the room and into the viewing room next door.  
  
"I thought you didn't believe Zim about that."  
  
"I didn't. But I can't take any chances. We'll just stay here and watch it."  
  
"We won't be able to record or take pictures from here though! You'll have no evidence!"  
  
"The evidence isn't as important. The important thing is for Zim to die and us to live."  
  
"Why don't you go back in there and take pictures? I'll stay behind the protective glass."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
"Thanks!" He ran into the autopsy room, where it was about to begin. The deadly laser beamed on Zim's head, but when he closed his eyes, it was shown that he had lead shielding on his eyelids. The beam bounced forward towards Dib; his mother screamed out. Instead of hitting him, it reflected off of his glasses, and went through the viewing glass. It struck Mel in the forehead.  
  
"NO!" She was immediately rushed to hospital quarters; they tried hooking her up to life support and administered an antidote to repel the effect of the laser. Both Zim and Dib received minor injury from the laser, but nothing serious. Radiation infected Mel's system, she was very sick, and she was dying slowly and painfully. Everything Zim said was coming true. "Why did it go through the glass?" he asked of his mother.  
  
"She was holding up the video camera to try to tape, and apparently the lens attracted the laser."  
  
"It's because of me...all because of me... If I hadn't fixed the camera up so she could record from there, she would be unaffected...that laser should've hit and killed me."  
  
"Don't say that! You feel so guilty, but it's not your fault!"  
  
"Zim was right...he told me that there would be a delay and she would die. If he hadn't told me, if I hadn't been stopped, I wouldn't have heard him...if I had chosen to ignore him, I wouldn't have moved her into the viewing room, and she would still be alive."  
  
"She still is alive."  
  
"I know, but...he's been right about everything else."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." She walked into the room where Zim was in, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where did Zim go?"  
  
"He probably transported himself back there...I've got to get back to Earth. Keep me updated on Mel."  
  
"All right. Here's a communications watch. It will show you her life signs and if they improve or decline, and you can speak with her on it."  
  
"Thank you." In an instant, he was outside of his house, and he saw Zim running into the bushes. "ZIM! Get back here!" Dib chased the alien as he tried to escape to his house, and when he came within range of tackling Zim, the Irken activated his mechanical legs. Glancing at his watch, Mel's life signs were steadily declining. "Don't worry! I'll kill Zim, and you'll be okay. I promise." She acknowledged him by blinking her eyes a couple times, and he continued his pursuit.  
  
Zim was already in his base now, and getting in would be difficult. He avoided the gnomes and attacked his nemesis without even thinking about it. Mel's life signs were down by 50% more. She was dying, and fast. While caught off guard, Zim threw Dib to the side and aimed a ray gun at him.  
  
"Say your prayers, Earth-monkey!" Mel's life signs down by another 5%. At this rate, she'd die in about three minutes.  
  
"Kill me, Zim. If I can't kill you, at least she'll live."  
  
"No, Earth-monkey. I won't kill you. I'll injure you just enough so that you won't be able to do anything for the next few minutes. Then, you can watch her die."  
  
"No!"  
  
"Oh, yes, Dib. Yes..."  
  
"If you aren't gonna kill me, I'm going to have to get myself killed."  
  
"Where are you going?!"  
  
"To get hit by a car."  
  
"No! You're going back to the Falish ship!" Zim pressed a button, and Dib found himself next to Mel's hospital bed. Another 10% down. Her health had decreased 75% total.  
  
"Mom! Please! You've got to kill me! Or she'll die!"  
  
"I could never do that to you!"  
  
"Please! I NEED TO!"  
  
"You can't give up. There must be another way."  
  
"No! There isn't any other way!"  
  
"There must be!" 10% more. Mel was almost dead.  
  
"Wait! There's one other option!" Dib lifted her in an upright position, and lifted her eyelids to inspect her eyes. "I can help her." He placed his hands on the sides of her head, and the room was enveloped in bluish light. Within ten minutes, she fell backward, and everything returned to normal. The room was completely silent.  
  
A minute or so later, a commotion was created, and the Falens were rapidly speaking, this time aloud and not telepathically.  
  
"Ktch qe...Ce Dib zxinh voceh! Ghuqa qe...Ce Dib voceh! Ce Dib voceh! Suekail!" Their voices seemed rasped, for the Old Language was rarely used anymore. Mel's life signs began to return to normal. Though Dib did not know this language, he understood them, due to their telepathic nature. They said, roughly translated, "The child...he is the one who fulfills powers! The prophecy...he fulfills it! He fulfills it! It is true!" Mel awoke, and saw that the Falens were crowding around Dib.  
  
"What's going on?" she inquired, demanding to know. He was dragged out of the room, and headed into the operating area. Several of the Falish doctors began taking out numerous tools for operation, and Dib was frantically trying to get away from the table and the restraints that bound him. It was to no avail. Just as one of the doctors lifted a knife to his head, Mel ran into the room, Dib's mother right behind. Mel concentrated her focus of energy to the surgical equipment and directed it to the walls.  
  
"Kai qi Kivoc!" one of the scientists shouted.  
  
"Kai qe Kivoc, vhe," she replied. Apparently, they thought she was something called 'Kivoc', and Dib's mother had just confirmed it. "Ktch dseq! Pya!" The guards immediately released Dib, who leapt out of the table and onto the floor.  
  
Getting a good look at the Falish for the first time, Mel realized that Dib didn't look Falish at all. The Falish males, which were everybody but Dib's mother, had grayish-blue skin, large, gray-brown eyes, large foreheads, and had typical slit mouths. Their bodies were extremely thin, but still very tall and strong. Not one of them had any hair, nor did anyone require glasses or have skin such as his.  
  
"Dib, what do you think is going on?" Dib turned to Mel, stunned to see her alive, for he'd thought her dead, and yet she was perfectly healthy, standing right there in front of him.  
  
"I don't know, exactly. They said something about a prophecy I was to fulfill and said you were a Kivoc, whatever that is."  
  
"I've had something I should've told you a long time ago, Dib, but I was afraid to. I know what a Kivoc is."  
  
  
  
When one sees the future and find it unpleasing, they attempt to stop it from happening. However, their actions to prevent something from occurring more often end up being the very cause.  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception. 


	8. Kivoc of Earth

Chapter Eight: Kivoc of Earth and the Love of a Friend  
  
  
  
  
  
From Mel's diary, three days later (Monday):  
  
Before I explain the thoughts that raced through my mind, the thoughts that I knew were going to change my life forever, I must first get this point across: Dib was sensitive to his Falish ancestry, and even ashamed of it, no matter how foolish he knew it was. I cannot properly convey the difficulty this posed for me, and still poses for the future. And, indeed, a Kivoc is something that could not possibly help the situation.  
  
Dib now insists that he doesn't mind it, but I know he's lying. It's affected him deeply, and I feel pity, but that's for another time. Hmm...what else can I say? This thing has made me utterly happy and utterly sad. As soon as I can cheer myself from sorrow, another storm comes, throwing problems in my face in rough torrents of misery.  
  
I look at the sky of time; one end--the past--is the purest sky blue you've ever seen, the other--the future--a storm of oppressive and forbidding clouds. I want to run back to the deep and alluring blue, the one that represents all I love of nature, no matter how many miles I may travel across time and across space, but I know that if I choose that path of ignorance and shelter myself from reality, the storm clouds of the future will only grow fiercer, waiting for a time of penetration so as to strike the hardest blow. I know that if I face my own future, my own fate, I may one day pass through that storm and live without this heavy burden.  
  
Alas, I see Dib enter now. He senses that I am deep in thought, but is aware of my knack and love for writing, and doesn't see it as anything unusual. I still feel terrible about holding my secret inside of me, especially after he openly admitted that he was an alien. I feel badly about that. Still, rarely can one change what is done. Dib is coming to tell me something now.  
  
He only reminded me of the time; I do get carried away often. Skool begins in an hour, so I think I will finish this entry soon. That is, depending on an individual's opinion of soon.  
  
When I had explained to him what a Kivoc is, I'm not sure how he dealt with it. It must be a shock to him, and I'm quite sure he thought me a traitor when he scowled at me. I remember it as though it occurred only a moment ago.  
  
I was standing there, and he asked me what a Kivoc was. I didn't want to tell him. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, and I wondered if I should lie to him. I wanted to lie, oh how desperately I wanted to lie. I didn't even want to admit that I was a Kivoc to MYSELF! I remember biting my lip, nervously wetting the roof of my mouth with my tongue in hopes of holding off my speech for just a second more.  
  
However, as he grew impatient, I couldn't fight it any longer. I told him. At first, his eyes were wide in shock and horror. He feared me. That look made me feel the worst inside that anyone could possibly feel, the one look that yelled everything of broken trust. He scowled harshly at me in utter revulsion, spat at my feet, and relayed a message telepathically that, when put into the words of the English language, said 'traitor'.  
  
Running down corridor after corridor, he tried to get away from me. It was obvious that he was sickened at my sight, and I wondered why I HADN'T lied to him. I suppose that even if I'd postponed my confession this long, at least I had to fess up sometime. Lying was not an option.  
  
The main indicator that I am a Kivoc is my psychokinetic powers. Hardly any creature inherits this ability, with few exceptions such as Dib, and even then, he can do far more than speak telepathically, which is the limit of the Falish horizon. The fact that I am human makes my ease with this ability even more incredible. And yet, no one suspected a thing until that time in the Falish hospital.  
  
What I do not believe Dib realized is that I saved his life. I gave myself away and willingly blew my cover to save his life. He just doesn't see the underlying message.  
  
Dib is my friend, and as such, I love him and value his life. He is in the living room now, reading magazines. I looked up from this tablet I'm writing on to smile, but he frowned and went back to his magazine. I now know that I should've told him from the beginning what a Kivoc was and that I was such, but didn't want to be, so he'd know that I wasn't who he thought I was.  
  
At least we're in the same class, and we can speak with telepathy during lectures. I sense negativity from him directed at me, and it hurts, but I can't let it get me down. I haven't let negativity bother me before, and I still won't let it harm me. I know that I must keep my positive attitude, and then maybe he will know that I mean no harm.  
  
I am at skool now. I arrived early. Dib rudely told me to get ready for skool this morning, and I responded that I already was ready. So, I heaved my backpack over my shoulder and walked to skool without him.  
  
The day has now ended, but something happened at lunch today. Ms. Bitters had just announced the skool dance for this Friday, and how if we didn't go, we'd get detention for a week. During this announcement, I saw Dib quickly glance at me, and then turn his head away. We sat at separate tables again today, and Zim did something unexpected. He asked me to go to the dance with him. He ACTUALLY asked me to go to the dance with him.  
  
I loudly yelled 'no' into his face, and slapped him. How DARE he have the nerve to do such a thing! After trying to get Dib and I to die just DAYS ago, he asks me out to a dance?! It did not make sense. Then, it hit me. Zim probably overheard Dib muttering about me or had heard from the Falish that I am a Kivoc. He probably hoped to get me on his side.  
  
He insisted that it wasn't to gain any advantage, and from the mind signals he gave me, I knew that it was true. Stranger yet, he said he liked me. I asked him to what extent, and he said, "A friend." However, despite this, it wasn't convincing. Dib seemed almost jealous, but you never can tell for what reasons he's jealous. If Zim beats him at anything, he's jealous, no matter the situation. What was even more curious was how I ENJOYED the jealousy. At least for once, Dib gets his own claim of victory. After all, as long as the two of us are friends, Zim and I could never go to a dance; Dib wouldn't permit it.  
  
And now, here I am, at a dress shop, picking out a dress for myself. To further Dib's victory against Zim and perhaps win his trust once more, I've decided to go to the dance with him. Imagine the looks on the popular kids' faces when Dib arrives at the dance and he's actually WITH somebody! I'd enjoy it just for that, if not for the good fruit punch they always have. That's delicious...  
  
To make my plan even more devious, I've made the arrangements, and I bribed the music guy, so the only songs that will play will be from Yes, Boston, and the Beatles: my three favorite groups.  
  
I wonder if Zim's going to be there, and if he'll stir any trouble. I'll have to mention to Dib not to boast about getting a...(shudder)...date...so Zim won't ruin anything, but I'll probably forget. I will tell Dib to bring a camera so we can show the pictures as proof to him.  
  
I suppose that this whole thing is as much vengeance for me as it is for him, along with getting him to trust me again. After all, I still haven't asked him. I think I'll get myself a new outfit along with the dress so that when I walk in, he'll notice the outfit and be sidetracked-- there won't be time for him to scowl.  
  
I made my purchase choices, left the store, and I'm back at Dib's house. I'm going to find a place to change into my new outfit, and then I'll visit him. I think he might even ask me first--that is, once I get a chance to explain my loyalty to humanity. If I have not yet written what a Kivoc is, I shall do so now. A Kivoc is a person who already has distaste for their own kind, so some aliens--the grays, to be precise--train them to have supernatural abilities and to try to destroy their kind. This, of course, is something Dib has every right to be appalled at. However, I have turned against them and think for myself. I am his ally now, and he should know that I no longer wish harm against this planet's inhabitants...though it is tricky to suppress that thought. I only hope that he sees it the way I do.  
  
  
  
The feeling of sadness is the most dreaded of human emotions, yet dreading the experience of it only leads into sadness rather than preventing it. This is one of fear's best ways of getting through to the human psyche.  
  
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception. 


	9. Skool Dance

Chapter Nine: Skool Dance

     Mel walked into Dib's room, only to see him lying facedown, apparently thinking about something.

     "Go away," he said, sinister in tone.

     "I'm sorry, Dib, I just--"

     "JUST GO! You horrible monster! How dare you do that, you...TRAITOR!"

     "I'm not a traitor, Dib. Though I received the abilities that I could easily use to destroy this planet, I never intended upon using them like that. Remember when I used it three days ago? I saved your life. Please, listen. I would NEVER stab you in the back like that. As I said before, I don't harm my friends. That includes emotionally, too."

     "Then...you didn't have any choice?"

     "Of course I didn't have any choice! Why do you think I've been here this whole time? It's not my option. Zim was the one who wanted to use my powers to conquer Earth, not I," Mel lied, knowing that Zim really did like her.

     "I...I'm sorry."

     "Apology accepted." There was a pause, and they sat there, doing nothing but thinking of what to do. "Can you believe that Zim ACTUALLY had the nerve to ask me to the dance? I mean, he's an alien!" Under normal circumstances, this would be fine, but she had forgotten about his being an alien, and that made it an insult to Dib. "Oh, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean the Falish, I meant Irkens. They're the monsters. I like the Falish. You're a wonderful Falen." 

     It wasn't going to fly, and she knew it. If her plan had been to get him to ask her to the dance before she, she failed in every sense of the word. A long pause. "I'm sorry; really, I am. It's just...well, I'm not used to terminology adjustments. I mean, do you REALLY think that if I thought you were a monster that I'd be trying to get you to ask me to the dance?" She covered her mouth up. In trying to cover up the mistake in what she had said, she let her cover get blown. _'Oh, man...how stupid of me! I shouldn't have paid for the dress before I actually got accepted!'_

     "You...want me to ask you to the dance?" In nervousness, she blushed.

     "Yeah...I thought that it might help your vengeance against Zim and help get back at some of the idiots at skool." The truth wasn't convincing enough to him.

     "Sure...yeah, vengeance. That's it." For some reason, she felt that he didn't believe her about that.

     "Well...what do you say?"

     "Hmm...I'll think about it. Why don't you wait outside the room? I've got 'a lot' of thinking ahead." She left, and waited on the living room couch. Of course, the threat of being killed had been lifted, for the Falish bandits behind it had been dealt with. Apparently, it seemed, worthy minds were wanted by some other creatures in exchange for rewards. However, Dib's mother took care of it by sewing a special thread inside of Dib's clothes--it repelled anyone who was not human, Irken, or Seraul within ten miles, not to mention the other measures that had been taken, of which they knew nothing.

     "You can come in now!" Dib yelled a minute later, and she walked into his room.

     "Well?"

     "I've thought it over, and I've made my decision."

     "And that decision is..."

     "That depends on your answer to this question."

     "Yes...?"

     "Do you want to go to the dance with me?"

     "Okay." The next day at skool, when Dib said he was going, Zim announced that he, too, was going to the dance, and had an 'adequate female human meat bag.' Finally, the day of the dance was upon them. Mel changed into her dress, which was long and made of a light blue silk material. She had her hair up with hair spay and perfume, along with a necklace and lipstick.

     "Whoa...I don't think I've even seen you not wearing black; you look completely different, you're...you're beautiful!"

     "Geez, Dib, you're real nice."

     "No, that's not what I meant! You always look pretty, but you see, I meant that--"

     "Ah, forget it. No harm done. You got a little dressed up yourself, now that I think of it. How much did that suit cost you?"

     "Not much...something in the realm of...oh, about fifty bucks."

     "For all I know about clothing--which is very little--that's pretty expensive...just for a little dance?" He nodded. "Wow..." A limousine pulled up just as they walked outside, and they got in. Mel began to assess the situation in her mind. _'Okay...I'm in a limo with my favorite cartoon character, but he's alive and real here, and we're on our way to a dance where Zim will be, and Zim has a crush on me but hates Dib and doom usually follows everywhere he goes. Not to mention the fact that Dib possibly likes me and thinks that I like him back. Not good.'_ We exited the limousine, by far the best entrance, and saw a crowd of kids, shocked at the fact that he even showed up. Some girls in the back started asking questions.

     "Who's that in the limo? Do they even go to our skool? I don't remember that boy, and I ESPECIALLY don't remember that girl! I know everyone at skool!"

     "Will you shut up? Wait...they DO go to our skool...and isn't that...isn't that..._Dib_?!"

     "What? With a girl? No way!"

     "See for yourself."

     "No _WAY_!"

     "No way!"

     "Like, no way!"

     "No way!" They continued this for a bit, but that's beside the point. Mel and Dib entered, enjoying how those horrible children looked. Finally, they made their way into the cafeteria. All of the children in there gasped in surprise. Zim glared at Dib, obviously jealous. Gretchen, the girl who had come with Zim as second choice when learning that Dib had a date, cried a little, but Zim hardly noticed.

     "Why?! Why did you leave me?!" she yelled out in reference to Dib.

     Zim, not being adept in the whole 'caring' thing, shrugged her off, saying, "Yeah, sure, whatever." She ended up running out of the cafeteria in tears.

     "Why don't you go cheer her up, Dib? She seems awfully distressed."

     "Yeah, maybe I should talk to her. I'll be back soon." He went out the back way, where she had gone, and Zim devised an evil plot, beating him to her.

     "Human, what's wrong?" Zim asked, feigning kindliness.

     "D-D-Dib, he's got...a GIRLFRIEND!" she began to sob more, and Zim talked gently in false sympathy once more. Invaders were trained well in this.

     "There, there. The Dib is coming here this very moment to apologize to you, and you know what?"

     "W-what?"

     "He wants to kiss you. BADLY."

     "He does?!" Her spirit lifted.

     "Yess...and he wanted to tell you that the other girl was just a cover-up for his REAL pathetic feelings he has for _you_. So, how will you surprise him?"

     "I'm gonna kiss him!"

     "Yes, and HOW are you going to kiss him?"

     "On the cheek!"

     "No! Stupid human...I mean...girl...you'll kiss him on the lips, with the tongue, everything you can imagine."

     "All right!"

     "Yes. You go do that. He should find you any moment. I'll just hide in these bushes to make SURE that everything turns out NICELY...oh, how nice it will be..." Zim began to laugh maniacally, but quickly stopped and hid. Dib came near.

     "Gretchen? I'm sorry that I went with Mel instead of you, but it's going to be okay."

     "Of course it will!" Gretchen pulled him close to her and kissed him, but no matter how much he struggled against her, she was struggling with him more. From his hiding spot, Zim snapped pictures. Lots and LOTS of pictures.

     "This is TOO good..." Zim said to himself and he snapped pictures that looked real and scandalous. "When I show these photos to Mel, Dib will suffer and be humiliated. And, on top of all that, he'll lose the only girl he likes...heh, heh, heh..." Finally, Zim ran out of film, and kept the pictures for later.

     Back in the cafeteria, Mel inquired Dib on why he looked so ruffled up. "Geez, Dib, what happened to you?"

     "Oh, I...had a little...trouble." For the most part, they sat there talking, drinking punch, and enjoying the envious eyes of those who thought he would never get a date in his life.

     "Well, if nothing else, tonight's a spirit-lifter."

     "Yeah." A song began to play with the sounds of nature at the beginning, elevating to sophisticated guitar music. The popular children, who had never heard the likes of this music before, were dumbfounded and did not know how to dance to it. "Care to dance?"

     "Sure." The song was about eighteen and a half minutes long, but it passed quickly. Some of the children actually caught on and liked it. "I guess that none of the kids here have heard _Close to the Edge_." The next song was called _'And You and I'_, another song by the group Yes. This song was for the dance contest. The main lights dimmed and several spotlights were placed on the couples participating. When they messed up in their step, the lights went off, signifying that they're out of the running. One by one, the lights went out, as the two kept with the rhythm. At one point, Dib spun her around, making it seem like they really knew what they were doing. Eventually, as the song neared its end, there was only one spotlight, and it was on them.

     "And we have a winner!" a voice yelled out. "It's...Dib and Mel?"

     "We won!" A little later, after accepting their award (and a couple others, too), the award for the best couple was handed out.

     "The winner is...yet again, Dib and Mel." Since they were already up on the stage thingy, they merely took the award and had more pictures taken of them. "Now, why don't you two kiss each other?" Mel concealed the fact that her stomach churned at the thought of kissing her friend.

     _'But what can I do? He'd probably think that it's just because he's an alien, which is incredibly wrong. I don't want to disappoint him or ruin the night, but I can't kiss him. I couldn't kiss him. I know! I'll pretend to kiss him! How do I do that?'_ At that moment, Zim came crashing into the door. _'Finally,'_ Mel thought. _'Finally this comes in handy.'_ She was dead wrong.

     "Wait! Stop this filthy Earth show!" They pulled away from each other, Mel glad to get a break. "I think that this Earth-monkey," Zim said, gesturing his hand to indicate Mel, "would like to see something before she kisses this scum."

     "Don't call her an Earth-monkey! And what are you talking about?"

     "Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Dib. They're just pictures that INCRIMINATE YOU!"

     "Incriminate me? For what?"

     "Hmm...maybe...CHEATING!" The crowd gasped. Zim showed Dib the pictures he'd taken of Gretchen kissing Dib, but they looked like he was taking part in a little more than kissing.

     "Let me see this!" Dib snatched the photos from Zim, and frowned. "Zim, this is ridiculou--" He looked to his side, where Mel was crying. "Why are you crying, Mel?" Zim had given her some copies of the pictures.

     "This!" She showed him one of them. "I can't _believe_ you!"

     "He's lying! I didn't do anything like that!"

     "Does the camera lens lie, Dib? It looks like you're doing a lot more than comforting her!"

     "No! She was the one who started kissing me, and I was trying to get AWAY!"

     "You seem to be enjoying it here!"

     "I wasn't! Please, don't believe Zim! He's just trying to trick you!"

     "How do I know that? Huh? How do I know?!"

     "I wouldn't be so horribly malicious to you!" Zim cut in.

     "Mel, I thought you said you didn't even like the pitiful Earth creature."

     "I don't, but--"

     "What? You don't like me?"

     "Not in a romantic way."

     "You DON'T like me...and you wanted me to go to the dance with you...it doesn't make sense."

     "What about you?! As soon as we get here, you go to the back of the skool and make out with some other girl! What's your problem?!"

     "If you don't like me, then why should you care? Besides, I didn't even touch her!"

     "The reason I care is because we're friends, and you THOUGHT we were in a relationship. You don't care about me enough."

     "That's not true! Zim set me up! He tried to make it LOOK like I was kissing her! Please, believe me! Don't let him fill you with lies! Don't let him win!"

     "That's all you care about, isn't it? Winning. Winning against Zim, winning me...you just want to win, win, win!"

     "That's not all that I care about!"

     "I'm leaving. And there's not one word you can say to stop me."

     "Wait, Mel!" Zim chuckled to himself, seeing the pain in Dib's eyes. "You! I swear, Zim, I'll kill you!" Dib kicked Zim to the ground and stomped on his squeedily spooch repeatedly. "You MADE Gretchen do that, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?! Answer me, Irken!" This caught Zim's attention. Dib nearly always called him 'alien', or 'space boy', or something of that nature. Rarely did he ever address Zim as 'Irken'.

     "All right! I did! So what? You can't do anything about it now. She might've started to like you, but so long as I keep pitting you two against each other in argument, eventually she'll just give up."

     "Maybe. But I won't. You just wait and see." Dib ran outside, where he found Mel sitting on a bench, looking blue. Surprisingly, some of the popular girls were consoling her.

     "I know what it's like to be lied to," a girl said. Mel thought, _'How come these girls who are mean and uncaring all the time are suddenly being nice to me? Is it because they see me in pain some way that they have experienced? How very strange...'_

     "Mel! Mel!" It was Dib. She could tell his voice from a mile away. "Mel, this is just a misunderstanding!"

     "I don't want to see your face. Not now, not ever. You're not my friend, and you're most CERTAINLY not anything more! You're less! You're horrible! Why? It doesn't make any sense! It's not like you to do something like this."

     "I didn't do anything! Zim set it up! He admitted it!"

     "Stop it! Stop trying to cover your own mistakes!"

     "I'm not! Please! You must BELIEVE me! Please? I wouldn't do that! Zim just wanted to ruin tonight. And it looks like he's succeeded."

     "I...I don't know. I don't know what to believe. I'd like to believe you. I'd like to know that there's someone I can trust. And if I expect you to trust me, I should trust you as well. I believe you."

     "Wait--you do?"

     "Yes. I'm so sorry about what I said. You will forgive me, right?"

     "Yeah. Of course."

     "Thank you."

     "The limo is still waiting for us. We can go home right now, if you'd like."

     "Okay."

Misunderstanding, fear, and hate are the most painful and deadly killers.

--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.


	10. Kiana

Chapter Ten: Kiana

     It was now Saturday, and Dib awoke around 10:00 in the morning. He was thinking, mostly about the dance. Oh, he'd get back at Zim, all right. Then, he thought of what Zim had said: _'Mel, I thought you said you didn't even like the pitiful Earth creature.'_ She didn't like him, after all. Or, maybe it was just another one of his tricks. However, Dib had the feeling that Zim was right about that.

     His life had changed drastically in the past month. Mel was a Kivoc, he was an alien who had supernatural powers, and not to mention the fact that he was considered among his kind to be of some importance...the words echoed in his mind:

_    "Ktch qe...Ce Dib zxinh voceh! Ghuqa qe...Ce Dib voceh! Ce Dib voceh! Suekail!"... _"The child...he is the one who fulfills powers! The prophecy...he fulfills it! He fulfills it! It is true!"__

_     'What were they talking about, anyway? What prophecy? Something must give me a clue!'_ He felt compelled to pick out one of his books from his shelf at random, and looked at the title: 'Alien Species: Their Legends and Prophecies.' "Eureka!" Dib said aloud. Mel shifted position, but did not waken. He looked up 'Falish' in the contents and turned to the section about them.

     _'The Falish are known to speak telepathically, though they once had a spoken and written language. Some ancient documents in the Falish language have been found and decoded, giving us some clues about their culture and history. Other records show that they look almost entirely human until they are about thirteen, when their Falish characteristics (including light blue skin, gray-brown eyes that are far larger than a humans', and thinner but stronger appendages) begin to show._

_     'At first, when their children (who were raised with human families in ancient times) changed into their Falen forms, they were thought possessed and killed. However, the adults confronted them and calmed them by teaching them how to write, read, and run society more efficiently. Among recovered literatures is a prophecy.'_ Dib's eyes grew wide at that word.

     _'Legend goes that a young child of less than thirteen would "ascend from the **primitive planet **[Earth] and descend on **Fali **[their home world] to give the gift of the primitives. He will be assisted by a **Kivoc **[still not translated] and she will be named **Kiana **[still not translated]. Her death will occur when the **planet's **[Earth's] skies cloud red and purple with the symbol of **Irk **[still not translated]. His name will be **Dib **[One Who Sees] and he will not get to say goodbye to her. They shall meet when in great peril, and shall depart in great peril. The child will be Earth-born, but with a Falen mother and a Seraul [still not translated, most likely a species name] father." This prophecy has been cast upon with much doubt, and it seems unlikely it will ever come true.'_

     Dib shut the book. He still had a reason to defend the Earth from Zim. _'I can't let Zim win, or Mel will die. But it seems like I'll be on Fali at the time...I must kill Zim. I'll kill every last one of those Irkens if I have to! They can't have Earth!'_ Mel stirred, yawned, and stood up.

     "What're you reading, Dib?" She looked at the book. "Alien species, huh? Catching up a little on intergalactic knowledge?"

     "Uh...yeah. Yes, I am. Hey, Mel, would you like to go into the kitchen for a sec?"

     "What? Why would I do that?" She rubbed the last bit of sleep out of her eyes.

     "Uh...breakfast is in there. Why don't you go get it?"

     "I have a BETTER idea. Why don't YOU get it?"

     "Hey, I'm letting you live here, the least you can do is make your own breakfast."

     "Oh, okay. I've got stuff to do downstairs, anyhow, lots of important something-or-other...yep. Sure do, as a matter of fact, and I'm not lying, no sir, that's for suckers, and I'm not a sucky...egh! I mean 'sucker'! Ah, who cares...?" She trailed off as she went into the kitchen. Dib looked at his communications watch and pressed a button to contact his mother directly.

     "Vhe?" She spoke to him, saying 'yes?'

     "I'd like you to come."

     "Dib, vhe." She immediately transported herself to him. From there, she spoke telepathically. "Is there anything wrong?"

     "Mom...what does 'Kiana' mean?"

     "Why do you ask that?"

     "Uh...I was reading about Falish culture, and there was the prophecy..."

     "Ah, yes. It does seem likely that you are him..."

     "What does Kiana mean?"

     "We don't know."

     "What?"

     "All names of the Old Language are given to those of great honor and purpose. You happen to have a name in the Old Language because it was foreseen that you would do great things. You lived your first year of life on Fali, our home world, but you were originally born on Earth when I was forced to crash land here. I had to take you back, and knew that I'd have to come back later."

     "Then why don't you know what Kiana means? You know what _my _name means."

     "Yes. That is true. A name in the Old Language must be given when a child is seen by a Falish leader to deserve such a name. Then, the Falish leader looks into their mind and who they will be. The name given is not known until found from within the individual. Each one is unique. Each person has their own traits and characteristics that distinguish them and make their name readable."

     "Mom, you're a Falish leader, aren't you?"

     "Yes, Dib. I am. I found your name from within you when you were first born here."

     "Mom, can you find Mel's name?"

     "Only if she is found deserving by the standards of the Falish Council."

     "Then could you see? She's downstairs."

     "Do you want me to get her?"

     "No, I'll get her. Gaz might be up by now." As Dib left the room, he bumped into Mel.

     "I knew you wanted to see me, so I came up here for you."

     "Uh, thanks." Mel walked in his room, seeing his mother.

     "I am so glad to see you again, Riva."

     "Where did you get that name from?!" she exclaimed.

     "It seemed to fit you."

     "Perhaps my son is right..."

     "About what?"

     "We shall see." Riva placed her hands on each side of Mel's head, instructing the human to close her eyes. She complied, and his mother again lifted her hands, staring ahead in deep thought. "Kiana...Mysterious One. Your name is Kiana. You two...you two are destined to live and rule on planet Fali."

     "What?! No, I can't stay here! I must get back to my family! They must be worried enough already! They must think that something horrible has happened to me!"

     "Kiana, it is unavoidable. No matter what you do, you will be taken to Fali."

     "No! I can DO something about it if I know about it ahead of time! I MUST do something! Do you really expect me to just live on an alien world without my family even knowing? I CAN'T do that!"

     "I'm afraid you must."

     "Mel, I think she's right," Dib said, and Riva gasped. "What? Is it something I said?"

     "Dib, it is forbidden to address a companion by their name from before their title in the Old Language!"

     "You mean that I can't call her 'Mel' anymore?"

     "No! You mustn't! It's very rude!"

     "Why?"

     "It just IS, Dib."

     "Riva," she began, "I don't mind being called by my name."

     "Well...all right. Just so long as you do not refer to her by that name in front of other Falens!"

     "What does your name mean, Riva?"

     "It means 'One Who Leads.' My name is indicative of my position as a leader."

     "When will I have to leave to Fali?"

     "That is uncertain. I will let you know of anything important, thought. Goodbye for now."

     "Goodbye." She disappeared, and Dib turned to Mel.

     "There's something I have to take care of."

Sometimes winning the battle is losing the war.

--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.

!! 


	11. The Battle

Chapter Eleven: The Battle 

     "Where are you going?" Mel asked as Dib wrote a letter. "It's not often that you have to leave to do something and begin to write a letter."

     "I can't tell you where I'm going. Just promise me that you won't read this letter unless I do not return in two hours." He finished the last line and sealed it in an envelope.

     "Why two hours?"

     "Mysterious Mysteries is on tonight. I have special instructions for you to tape it."

     "In that case, why don't I just read the instructions now?"

     "No. You can't."

     "Why not? Are you hiding something from me?"

     "No, it's just...I need to trust you on this. You can't read that letter unless I do not return by 8:30. I need to trust you on this. Please?"

     "It must be pretty important. Is this some kind of test to see if you can trust me?"

     "No, not at all. I just need to be able to trust that you will follow my instructions. All right?"

     _'Hmm...Dib isn't like this often. He seems worried and frantic. It _**must **_be something important. My deception senses are tingling.'_

     "Can I trust you?"

     "Of course, Dib. You can entrust me with anything. But I would like to know what you're going off and doing at this time. You're nervous."

     "N-no I'm not."  
     "I'm not a fool, Dib."

     "I know you're not!"

     "Then don't lie to me! You ARE nervous! You're shaking, and your hands are quivering! What are you so nervous about?"

     "I have something important to do; let's just leave it at that."

     "Does this important thing have to do with Zim?"

     "How do you know?"

     "One doesn't know you for a month and not get used to your habits. Almost every time that you go on about the 'fate of the Earth' or 'something important,' it has to do with Zim! But I've never seen you like this before! You're a _wreck_, Dib."

     "I've got to kill him, tonight, and I can't fail! Not again."

     "Why are you so nervous, though?"  
     "Because...because...I'm not sure if I can succeed."

     "You can succeed. Don't worry. If you're nervous, it will only hinder you. Remember: 'fear is the mind killer.' It's a quote from a book I read, and it makes a lot of sense. I place my utmost confidence in you. Surely that is enough."

     "Thank you. I must go now."

     "You won't be late, I'm sure. I'll be waiting. Oh, and Dib?"

     "Yeah?"

     "If you're going to explode his base or something, take pictures for me to see."

     "I think I'm going to confront him myself. I've got a score to settle with him."

     "All right. Knowing you, it'd bug you for weeks if he beat you in dodge ball, so I won't interfere with your want for revenge. And, by the way, just how do you plan to exact this revenge of yours? Surely you weren't about to go over there without a plan, were you?"

     "Well...I'm going to challenge him to a fight, and, hopefully, I will win."

     "Just make sure that you're armed with something. Maybe a water gun in case he forgot to bathe in paste, and anything else that might come in handy. Perhaps a kitchen knife would do."

     "I had hoped on sending him to Mysterious Mysteries for an autopsy, but...I just don't want that like I used to. I only want him to die."

     "Well, _there's_ a way to suppress primitive thoughts."

     "I have to, though. That filth doesn't deserve to live in the first place."

     "Oh, I don't particularly care for him much, but you don't have to kill him. There ARE other ways of revenge, some worse than death."

     "Are you trying to _protect_ that Irken?!"

     "By no means! I just don't want you to have blood on your hands! Even though it may sound a glorious victory for you now, it isn't all that it seems! You'd be guilty of committing murder, on filth or not! If you killed him in self-defense it would be less of a crime and understandable to a greater extent, but to seek him out yourself? I don't think you realize what it is to kill someone, whether they are a murderer or not! Don't deprive him of life--let that happen some other way. Let him suffer more. I beg of you."

     "Mel...no. You just don't understand."

     "Do you think I'm incapable of understanding?"

     "No, I just--"

     "Then make me understand. Explain it, nice and simple."

     "If I don't kill Zim he will conquer Earth, and you will die."

     "Well...okay. Just don't dally. Make it quick."

     "All right. And don't open that letter, okay? Not until 8:30 if I don't return!"

     "You can count on me." Dib ran to Zim's base, the sky twilight, and prepared to sneak into the base. Zim sat on the couch with Gir, staring at the television, bored stiff.

     _'Good,'_ Dib thought, _'I can attack him from overhead. He won't know what hit him.'_ Sneaking through the open window when Zim wasn't looking, Dib hid among the many tubes and pipes on the Irken's ceiling. He knew there wasn't much time; the intruder alert would go off at any second now, removing the element of surprise. He had to act immediately. Drawing his knife out, he leapt onto the couch, lunging at Zim.

     "What the--?" Zim had no time to respond. Dib had Zim by the collar and pressed the knife against his neck. A small trail of blood seeped out; Zim had fear and surprise in his eyes. "Dib! Let me go! Now! You filthy--"

     "Filthy what? Human? No, I'm afraid you're wrong, my long-hated nemesis. I'm not human. I'm Falish. This isn't human against Irken, Zim! This time...it's something far more deadly."

     "Why are you DOING this? Why now?"

     "Zim, you simple-minded fool! If you live, you'll conquer Earth. If you conquer Earth, Mel will die. I will NOT allow either of those happen! So die, Zim! But before that, I want to hear you say it."

     "Hear me say _what_?"

     "I want to hear you say that if you should survive this, which you will not, that you will leave the Falish and the humans ALONE!"

     "I won't harm the humans...or the Falish, you ignorant ika."

     "What?"

     "That's a curse against you, fool!"

     "I want to hear something else from you."

     "Hear _what_?"

     "Why did you want to conquer Earth? Why all the pain and suffering?" Dib knew that he was speaking for Mel now, as he wouldn't have questioned his motives, just tried to stop him.

     "Because I was ordered to! Do you not realize that the Irkens dominate the galaxy? We can't have anyone potentially overthrowing us! Besides, I wouldn't conquer Earth anyway, now that I know that Mel would die."

     "Why would you care?"

     "Why do you think I asked her to the dance?" Dib understood what he implied.

     "You..._love_ her?"

     "Yes." Dib cursed.

     "Another reason for you to die. I can't have you poisoning my friend with your poisonous ideas."

     "Ah, but you don't want her to be _just_ your friend, now do you?"

     "Don't be ridiculous! I've gotten over that."

     "Or have you?"

     "Yes. Now, why stall? You're gonna die, Zim. I'm going to kill you, right now." Dib took the knife he held against Zim's throat and thrust it into his squeedily spooch. At this, Zim screeched in pain, trembled a bit, and then went silent. He pulled it back out of the Irken, dropped the bloodstained blade, and turned to walk out of the door. As he did so, Mel's stare met his. "Mel?! What are you doing here?!"

     "I followed you here. Zim can be tricky at times." She took a few steps farther and looked at the fallen Zim. "Is he...dead?"

     "Yeah. I was surprised at how little he fought back."

     "I will miss Zim's antics, though. I can't believe he's dead." Gir walked out from behind the TV.

     "Master! Wake up! Master? What happened?" Mel, feeling sorry for the little robot, walked up to him.

     "Gir, I'm afraid your Master isn't waking up. Zim's...dead." Gir sniffled.

     "When does he move again?"

     "Not ever. I'm sorry, Gir. It was for the best."

     "You've got stuff on your eyes!"

     "What? I'm not crying."

     "Stuff! Like him!"

     "Oh, you mean glasses?"

     "Yeah! Can I have them?"

     "What? No way! I need these to see, and I can't have you breaking them or gunking them up...or something!" Gir looked sad at these words. "Hey, look, Gir, why don't you stay with me tonight? I'm sure Zim would have wanted it."

     "Thank you..."

     "Yay! We can throw a cupcake party for you! That ought to cheer you up! Dib, can we keep him?"

     "Wait a minute! Mel, this is where I draw the line! We are NOT going to have an insane robot of Zim's staying over at my house!"

     "Come on, Dib, do a kindness for him. I mean, you DID just kill Zim."

     "Well...I guess, but--wait, no!"

     "Fine, then. I'll live in Zim's base by myself."

     "No, don't do that!"

     "Then we have a deal?"

     "Uh...I guess."

     "Good! But Gir, you'd better not trash his house!" They walked back, not noticing that Zim wasn't dead after all...

_Murder is the worst act to commit--it only releases the victim from life and gives them peace, while the killer is forever weighted by the knowledge of what they've done, making their pain increase. This will ultimately lead into deep depression and an unstable emotional state. They may kill again as a result. _All actions have a consequence--the main source of regret is the ignorant nature of humanity.

--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception.__

!! 


	12. Don’t Skip Town Skip Planet

Chapter Twelve: Don't Skip Town; Skip Planet

     Gir kept Mel up long into the night, but Dib retired early. Just before she went to bed as well, she decided to talk to Gir. "Now, Gir. Remember: this is a secret. You tell NO ONE. NO ONE AT ALL! Got it?"

     "Uh-huh!"

     "Well, to be perfectly honest, Dib's getting to be a pain. I don't think that he understands that I don't WANT to go to Fali, yet we're supposed to go tomorrow night. I am not going to leave my home planet just to go with a friend to fulfill some prophecy thing! This is my home, Gir. I may jump at the opportunity to visit another world and meet another species; I'd LOVE that! But he says that I'd have to stay there permanently, according to the prophecy. I can't do that. I'll just have to tell him. Well, Gir, stay out of trouble. I'm going to bed."

     "Bye!"

     "Bye, Gir. See you tomorrow." Mel walked upstairs to Dib's room and got in her sleeping bag. When she slipped on a magazine, Dib awoke.

     "What was that?"

     "Just me."

     "Mel, it's 1:00 in the morning! What exactly have you been doing down there, anyway?"

     "Gir stuff. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."

     "Just think! We're going to be on Fali by this time tomorrow! Isn't it great?"

     "Ah, no."

     "No?"

     "Dib, I don't want to go to Fali. I've got a life here on Earth. I can't leave. Not now."

     "But--"

     "I can't. I'm sorry."

     "I'm not just visiting, Mel, I...I'm going to be _living_ there. For the rest of my life."

     "Oh. I...didn't know that. Well...goodbye, I guess. Have a nice life."

     "Then you mean you're really not going?"

     "Of course I mean it."

     "But Mel, this is your chance to visit an alien world! _My_ world, and I still don't even remember anything about it. I'd like to have a friend with me."

     "You'll have your mother."

     "No. She's got duties on the Falish ships. I'd be alone."

     "Oh, I'm so sorry."

     "Are you sure you wouldn't like to come?"

     "Yes, I'm sure. I'm afraid I can't cave on this one. This decision determines the course of my life. I can't make the decision too hastily. Maybe in a few months I can find time to join you."

     "No, Mel, it's not that simple. It's rare that a ship even comes by Earth. There isn't another one scheduled for 20 years."

     "I...I don't know. I want to go, but...couldn't I just be teleported there, like on the Falish ship your mom's currently on?"

     "No. The ship has to be within a certain range of Earth. A ship won't be in range for another 20 years."

     "This isn't good. I want to see another world, but it'd come with a price. I just can't do it. I'm sorry."

     "I understand that. Goodnight."

     "Goodnight." Though she lay back and closed her eyes, she didn't once succumb to sleep, for she knew that the path her life would take depended on her decision.

     Morning came all too quickly for her, and as she helped Dib pack his belongings, she felt torn between two worlds in this life, and felt torn between the two lives she lived in the two universes. Her family, her friends...this life with her other friend...so many options presented themselves to her, and she was unsure of each. Soon, they packed his last bag, and rested on the bed.

     "Are you sure you don't want to pack an extra bag for yourself?"

     "Dib, even if I was going, I wouldn't want to pack another bag, suitcase, or box of belongings in my LIFE." She sighed, lay back on the bed, and tried desperately to come to a decision. _'I can't leave, but I can't stay here by myself; that would be an uncomfortable situation. I don't really have any other place to go but with him, but I can't. I just can't.'_

     "Mel?"

     "Yeah?"

     As if reading her thoughts, which he probably had done, he asked her, "Where are you going to go?"

     "Well, I couldn't stay here; it'd be impolite and an unusual situation with you gone, so I'd probably have to learn to live at Zim's base."

     "It'd be a lot easier if you just went with me to Fali, you could--"

     "No! I'm not going to Fali! I see horrible things happening there; the planet is in a state of turmoil! We'll die a horrible death! We CAN'T go! Please! It's not safe!"

     "Mel, you have to trust me. The only way you'll die painfully is if Irk takes over Earth; otherwise, you'll die of age in the future. I've taken care of Zim! You don't have to worry about that!"

     "It's not that! It's war! There's going to be a terrible panic on Fali, and you're going to get murdered! Coming from the reports on your death, Irk will learn of Earth and gain interest in new snacks here. They'll conquer, with or without Zim, and I'll die, and there's no way to prevent it! It's the future, Dib! There is such a thing as fate, though not nearly as simple as the commonly referred definition! The timeline is like a story in an author's mind: the part of the story completed so far is the present, and the story not yet done is still planned out!"

     "You're an author yourself; you know that sometimes the course of the story changes."

     "Yes, but the ending, at least in most stories thought out completely and thoroughly beforehand, almost, inevitably, remains the _same_! It's a pattern, a dangerous pattern, and no matter what actions that seemingly may help it end up being the very cause! It's a pattern that leads to guilt and regret, remorse and sorrow, but, most of all, _understanding._ And you know that there's nothing you can do. You feel trapped. No matter what you do, no matter how you change the plot, the conclusion remains undeterred."

     "I've got to go, though. Maybe there _is_ a way to change the future; it might just need someone to find it."

     "But what if there isn't or you don't _find_ it?"

     "Let's just hope that I do. After all, you just said that it _usually_ remains the same. There might be a way to change it."

     "What is happening? What is happening to you, to me, to the universe? Nothing's right anymore. Is it that this trouble has been here the whole time, obscured by humanity's ignorance? Or is it that these turbulences have just recently arisen by some incredible force that is beyond human comprehension? Could it be possible that these difficulties are merely the result of our simple minds coming across much greater and more profound concepts?"

     "I don't know the answers to those questions. But I do know that, if the future is unchangeable no matter what we do, we shouldn't dwell upon it. Try to enjoy your life while you can."

     "I don't know, I guess I just want to know...speculation and curiosity are the keys to learning and unlocking the answers to questions thought to be hidden forever, to explain the unexplainable, accept the unacceptable. I know that I am limited more than I can possibly imagine, but I must try to utilize my mind to its full extent. I must try to reach my full potential."

     "It's getting late. The ship is going to be leaving soon."

     "Really? What time is it?"

     "Around noon."

     "You're going to be going soon, then. Goodbye."

     "Goodbye. Oh, and you can read the letter now."

     "Thanks. Best wishes from Earth!"

     "See ya on Alpha Centauri!"

     "Goodbye!"

     "Goodb--" he was cut off as he disappeared, apparently teleported onto the ship. Mel picked up a magazine he'd forgotten, read it, and sat on the bed once more. It was nearly an hour later before she remembered the letter. Pulling it out from her pocket, she tore the envelope open and began to read:

     _"Mel--If you are reading this, I am either dead or on my way to my home planet, Fali. This letter is because it is your right to know just what situation you are in. If I'm dead, it's because I decided to fight Zim and didn't succeed. As you are my friend, you should know that. Otherwise, I've decided to skip town--or rather, skip planet--because I am nearing the age of thirteen. That is when I'll look like my alien self. You'd think I was a horrible creature, no matter what you say. Perhaps now you say that you like the Falish and that looks don't bother you, but it makes a difference when talking to a friend._

_     "You may be disbelieving at this, which you probably are, and I bet you're furious with me for even thinking that, but it's true. I'm sure of it, but it doesn't bother me that it is, because I'm likely to have a harder time adjusting than you!_

_     "A rather unpleasant side effect of it that I've noticed lately is that I have an apathy for humanity--I don't care about the human race like I used to. I know that you're human, and you're close to an exception. I say that you are close to an exception because emotions that I once knew are no longer as strong and pronounced. I once thought I loved you, but my mind doesn't allow for that anymore. I'm sorry about what I have to say, but due to this drastic change, I can barely stand to look at you, knowing that I'll never be able to care for you even as a friend, like I used to._

_     "I write this in my last few hours that I can feel human emotions and truly express what I know. Though the Falish can have emotions just as well as humans, the Seraul, my real father's species, are nearly emotionless. I'm afraid that as my human physical characteristics diminish, so do my mental characteristics that truly define humanity. It is here that, for the last time, I can really say that you are my best friend and that I feel for you as you read this and know that pain myself, for I will never again be able to shed a tear for you or anything else. Goodbye. --Dib."_ Mel dropped the letter and dug out a communications watch. She tried to contact Dib with it, but the signal didn't go through. Instead, she turned to telepathy.

     _'Contact me...let me know you can hear me...'_ Mel waited. Nothing.

     Dib, who had arrived on the Falish ship an hour ago, was met by his mother's embrace. "I'm so glad you came here!"

     "Riva, I've got enough to worry about right now."

     "Really? What's your trouble?"

     "You know how my father is Seraul?"

     "Yes?"

     "I'm losing my emotions. For a while, I wanted Kiana to come to Fali with me, but I just don't care for her anymore. I can't really consider her my friend."

     "I thought you liked to call her by her first name."

     "It's too familiar. I don't want this to happen to me! I want to feel what I felt!"

     "Do you mean pain?"

     "There are good things about human emotion besides pain. I want that emotion back."

     "I'm sorry. I was ordered to have a child with a Seraul to make you almost emotionless, so as to strengthen our species."

     "You mean I was some...genetic experiment? You didn't have me because you loved someone? I don't even know what planet my father's on, let alone who he is! Why did you do this?"

     "We're hoping to find ideal genes to create a formula and use a system similar to cloning in order to save our kind from destruction. You're going to save the Falish species from extinction."

     "No! I won't take part in it! Not after you've deprived me of my emotion! My humanity! You might've given me life, but you're taking it away from me again! I don't want to live if I have to live like this!"

     "Don't say that, Dib, please, don't!"

     "Take me back to Earth. Sure, maybe I don't belong there, but I don't belong here, either! I must at least tell Kiana in person that I'm sorry."

     "Very well, but in five minutes we'll be out of range, and there will be no turning back. You must act quickly. I hope I see you again before then." She teleported him back down into his room, where he found Mel, trying to contact him.

     "Kiana?"

     "Please don't call me that."  
     "Okay. M-M-Mel."

     "Why is it hard for you to say my name?"

     "I'm losing my emotions."

     "So I've read. Why did you come back?"

     "I wanted to tell you in person that I'm sorry. I really am."

     "Isn't there anything you can do?"

     "No."

     "But there must be some way to change it! You've got to be able to feel compassion, and friendship, and caring! You just have to! Come on! You've been human all your life, or at least you have had the emotions! There must be _some_ way. Come on...don't give up just yet. I'm sure there is a way."

     "I don't think so, Kiana. I must leave now, or I won't ever make it."

     "Do you really have to fulfill this prophecy thing?"

     "I have no choice."

     "Of course you have a choice! There is a way to stop you from going."

     "How?"

     "We're going to stay here and wait until they're out of range."

     "They'll just teleport us from the ship."

     "No, they won't, not even if they wanted to. It is against the law for them to take me against my will, and I'm going to hold your hand the entire time. That way, they'll take both of us or none of us. Their only option will be none of us."

     "But Kiana...I want to go. I want to see my home world. I know that you want to stay on Earth, but I need to see my planet. I _have_ to go, no matter what you say."

     "I can't stop you. Your choice is your choice. I only hope it is the right choice. Good luck."

     "Thank you for understanding."

     "No problem. You must get going now, before it's too late. I couldn't deprive any friend of mine their life to live as they please."

     "Goodbye."

     "Goodbye." He disappeared from sight, leaving Mel to sit in the empty room.

     Monday morning. Mel had tried to see if she could live in Zim's house until finding a way back home, but the alerts acted just the same, which puzzled her. Instead, she remained at Dib's house. Due to a confrontation with Gaz, (namely "Where did my books go?") she was late, and had to get a tardy pass from the office, making her even later when getting lost trying to _find_ the attendance office. However, in spite of these trials and tribulations, she eventually made her way to her seat.

     During recess, some more girls came to give her their condolences for what they had thought happened on the night of the dance. Mel shrugged them off, saying that it was all just a misunderstanding as Dib had said, but they thought her to be in a state of denial. The sound of girls whispering horrible rumors about what had occurred resonated throughout the halls during the course of the day, people acting more and more viciously against Dib. Lunch was soon upon them, and Mel sat alone.

     "That rat didn't even bother to show up, did he?" one girl said while on her way to get lunch.

     "For the _last time_, Dib was _right_, and Zim really _did_ trick me."

     "That's what he _wants_ you to believe."

     "Precisely, and he wants me to believe the _truth_, which I do. Now, would you be so kind as to allow me the luxury, no matter how much a difficult task it may pose to you, of eating in _peace_?"

     "Poor, poor girl." Mel hated being the center of attention this way. Everyone was giving her sympathy for something that was just a mistake and misconception while they badmouthed her friend who was innocent. It got on her nerves, but she didn't know how to silence them. She tired of this rather quickly, and ended up going to the principal's office and borrowing the microphone. Tapping it, she cleared her throat.

     "Ahem. Excuse me, all students at this particular skool; I have an announcement for you! For those who are currently under the misperception that Dib kissed a girl named Gretchen during the skool dance last Friday, I can assure you that he is quite _INNOCENT_! It annoys me how you give me sympathy when, in actuality, I need none! The reason for Dib's absence is not because of shame; it is because he has moved! He has moved, and I won't be able to see him again for twenty years! So stop thinking that he has wronged me, for he did no such thing. Please consider this truth, for I am not in denial as many of you might think. And please, _please_, don't bother me!" Having done this, Mel went into the library and read.

     Skool ended shortly after, and Mel wondered what she could possibly occupy herself with. As she walked through the door, Gir greeted her by hugging her.

     "HI!"

     "Yeah, uh...hi, Gir."

     "Wanna ride the pig with me?!"

     "Wha--oh, the pig. Eh, not today, Gir. I have to rest for awhile."

     "Aw...wanna ride the moose?!"

     _'I forgot how much attention Gir needs...geez, this is gonna be tougher than I thought...but who knows what havoc he'd wreak if it weren't for having a caretaker? I suppose I could dismantle him, but I wouldn't have the heart to do so. Perhaps I'll work on him this weekend to see if I can repair him. Zim probably hasn't made much of an attempt, due to the fact that he trusts the Tallest--big mistake, in Zim's case--so it might even be simple. Maybe it's only a matter of finding the glitch and fixing it.'_

     "Well? Do you?"  
     "What? Oh, Gir, I'm afraid I can't. I've got something to do."

     "Is it pizza?"

     "No, not pizza."

     "Tacos?" She sighed.

     "Yes, Gir. Tacos." Not wishing to be disturbed, she made her way up into Dib's room and locked the door. Despite this, as she began to take out her homework, she sensed someone behind her. "Gaz? What are you doing here? I thought you--"

     "--hated Dib? Yes."

     "Why are you here?" she carefully articulated, nervousness trembling her lips.

     "I heard that everyone thinks he kissed some other girl when on a date with you."

     "It was the skool dance, and I only went to lift his spirits."

     "Whatever. You and my stupid brother went to a dance on Friday, he got you upset, and now he's missing, but you're still here."

     "Gaz..." she breathed in shock. "Are you insinuating that I _caused_ Dib to disappear?"

     "He hasn't just 'disappeared' and you know it." Mel gasped.

     "You're not saying that I _killed_ Dib, are you?!"

     "Why not? I've wanted to kill him. So, where'd you hide the corpse?" She didn't know how to respond.

     "Gaz, I **_DID NOT_** kill Dib, whatever you may think! I would never kill anyone!"

     "Quit acting innocent; everyone's capable of killing."

     "Perhaps I am capable, but I would _never_ stoop to that level! NEVER! Now, please leave, I can't take this!"

     "If you say you didn't kill him, prove it, because if anyone got to do it before me, you're dead."

     "All right! I'll tell you the truth, but you'll think me insane as you thought him, for this is really an unbelievable story--you know, the type you find in science fiction, but WHO CARES?! SO LONG AS I GET TO KEEP MY LIMBS!

     "Gaz, Dib found out that he's an alien--a cross between a Falen and a Seraul--and decided to go live on his mother's world, the planet Fali, he's almost there now, and since he's losing his emotions due to his father being Seraul, he doesn't even like me as a friend anymore; in spite of this he killed Zim." No one spoke a word.

     "Let me talk to him. If he's really on another planet, transmit a message."

     "All right, I will." She pressed some buttons on the communications watch, and Dib's image appeared on a screen. "Hi, Dib. How's everything going?"

     "Fine, I guess. Everyone's wondering why you aren't here, Kiana."

     "Kiana?" Gaz questioned.

     "It's her Falish name."

     "Yeah...more formal, because now he can't stand to be too familiar with me," Mel said, disdain in her voice. "Dib, what's it like? When are you getting there?"

     "You ask too many questions."

     "I'm sorry; it's just that my friend has moved to another PLANET, and I'm not gonna be able to see you in person for another TWENTY YEARS, so I think I'd like to know what's going on."

     "You did have the option of coming. You missed it, and this is consequence."

     "This isn't like you, not at all. If memory serves, you'd be telling me that everything is incredible, you'd describe the sight as amazing, and you'd...have more..."

     "Have more what?"

     "You'd have more enthusiasm. More _emotion_."

     "I'm not the same person I used to be."

     "Darn right you aren't! A lot of things have changed! I bet that if I decided I hated you it wouldn't affect you one bit!"

     Gaz chuckled to herself, "I finally get to see these two fight." However, the fight was to be short-lived, as Dib merely scowled, told her he had work to do, and ended the transmission.

     "I can't believe this. Three days ago, he wanted us to be more than friends, and now we can't even really be considered friends. Could he really have changed that much?"

     "Probably gets it from Dad."

     "What's that, Gaz?"

     "Dad. He usually says hi, tells us he has work to do, and then ends the transmission."

     "Then...Professor Membrane is..."

     "What? An alien?" Gaz asked jokingly. Mel stared at her seriously. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

     "He's not human. Professor Membrane really is Dib's father, and if you're really his daughter, then that means you are..."

     "I'm not some reject from _Star Trek_. If you think I'm an alien, you're as crazy as Dib."

     "No, Gaz...you're not an alien...just an alien hybrid."

     "Just don't bug me." Gaz left, and Mel thought to herself about the situation.

     _'Dib, Professor Membrane, and Gaz are all not human. What if _**I'm**_ not human?'_ With this thought, she rested on the near-empty floor and fell sound asleep.

_People concentrate their focus so hard on one thing, they become blind to the obvious, no matter how brilliant and individual._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception._

!! 


	13. Risen From the Dead

Chapter Thirteen: Risen From the Dead

     Mel awoke to Gir tugging her hair, screaming "WAKE UP!" Unaware of her surroundings, she grumbled and reached for her glasses. As her vision focused, she saw a clock; it read 10:30 a.m.

     "What the heck?! Oh, shoot, I'm late for skool!" Since she was still in her skool clothes from the day before and half asleep, she didn't bother to do anything but grab her backpack and run out the door. She arrived at about 10:40. Upon her arrival in class, Ms. Bitters growled.

     "You're late! Do you realize that skool began almost three hours ago?!"

     "Yes, yes, I do realize that," Mel panted as she dragged her thirty-pound backpack to her seat. "And I'm very sorry, I just found out that Gaz and Professor Membrane are aliens and I had a fight with Dib and fell asleep before I could set the alarm, so...here I am. Um...did I just say that aloud?" She was still tired, and hadn't quite thought out what she was going to say. The children stared at her awkwardly. "Whatever. Morons." As she ambled over to her desk, she noticed that Zim's seat was no longer empty: Zim, the alien presumed dead, sat in his own desk as though everything was just as it should be.

     Zim frowned as she stared at him, but Mel merely held surprise and disbelief in her eyes. What on Earth had happened? Had Zim never really been dead after all? Or was this his spirit, coming back for revenge? Whatever the answer might've been, Mel stood transfixed. Noticing that she had her hand balled into a fist, Mel relaxed her grip on the tardy pass she still held and handed it to Ms. Bitters.

     "Uh...here you go." She quickly slapped it onto the aged teacher's desk and scurried toward her seat. Zim--that name--that name that had invoked so much emotion. Zim--the one who had single-handedly given her friend both confidence in himself and misery. Zim--yet another alien she knew.

     "What, human?"

     "How can you call me _human_? Not even _I'm _sure of that anymore."

     "What do you imply to Zim?"

     "None of your business!"

     "Tell me!"

     "If you really must know, Dib and I are no longer friends. He's become something...different. Something I can't quite explain."

     A girl in class took the opportunity to revive a rumor: "So there _is_ a problem between you and Dib!"

     "As far as I'm concerned, I never knew him, and you need not know more than that." Mel finally sat down, drawing pictures all the while, mostly of Zim. However, her drawings differed greatly from Dib's, for hers usually _didn't_ depict him being dissected. Not paying attention to a word of Ms. Bitters's lectures, Mel sat and drew all day long.

     "Stop drawing and listen!"

     "Look, there couldn't possibly be anything that you could teach me, so why don't we just break for lunch?"

     "Go home now!" Everyone shrugged and crawled out of skool, through windows, doors, garbage shoots, wherever there was an opening leading to the outside. Mel and Zim, however, walked out the main entrance.

     "Zim...what is wrong with Dib?"

     "What are you talking about, human, I did nothing to your precious, bigheaded Dib."

     "I don't mean that, Zim. I mean that something is wrong with him, and though you may not be the culprit, I do suspect that you'd know more about it than me."

     "Well, now that you put my superiority into light, I _might _be able to help you."

     "Just shut up Zim and get on with it! Why is Dib so apathetic?"

     "Yes, he is very pathetic, isn't he?"

     "You heard me correctly; don't play any foolish games of yours."

     "All right already!"

     "He doesn't care about any of the things he used to, he doesn't seem to acknowledge his true loss anymore, and he's altogether different. At least he's not a ruthless killer, like you."

     "I am NOT a ruthless killer!"

     "What about destroying planet Earth, Zim? Hasn't it ever occurred to you that wiping out humanity is mass murder?"

     "No, I guess I never thought about it."

     "Well, there are a lot of things to be realized it you think."

     "Hmm...true. You seem to see more than most humans."

     "Please, don't go on about adoring me. All of that mushy nonsense is just plain sickening, alien or not."

     "Then how come you write about it?"

     "How would you know that?"

     "I read."

     "Well, you see that's due to a--hey, you're diverting attention! Very clever tactic, by the way, but it's not gonna fool me."

     "I almost had you there."

     "Yeah. _ALMOST._"

     "Mel, do you know where Gir is?"

     "Yeah, he's at my house."

     "You filthy thief!"

     "Relax, Zim! I just kept him for a bit because I thought you were DEAD! Don't accuse me of stealing! After all, no offense, but I don't know how you can stand that robot 24/7. I'm sorry, but it's miraculous you've lasted a day."

     "Pitiful creature! I could stand that robot longer than you!"

     "Wanna bet?"

     "You're in?"

     "Well, I happen to be a very competitive person when challenged, Zim. It just so happens that I've endured indignities for a ridiculously long amount of time to prove myself to someone who calls me for a bet. If I ever ramble off-subject, just let me know."

     "You're rambling off-subject."

     "Good. I hope it weakens your constitution so as to allow me to beat your arrogant attitude and gain me an advantage or two."

     "You're taking Dib's place?"

     "Zim, you have a really twisted misconception of the mechanizations that run this reality, you know that?"

     "Twisted, am I? It is you who requires the intimidation of speaking with the full extent of your vocabulary to feel superior."

     "I deny that accusation!"

     "See!"

     "For your information, I speak as I like and there's nothing you can do to prove a word you said. I rely on seeing past a foe or competitor for superiority, not on just talk. I'm afraid that that is your specialty. Consult yourself if the need be." Zim fumed.

     "Do not enrage Zim!"

     "Why?"

     "Ugh...! Because I said so!"

     "And...do you have any reinforcement?" A pause. "I didn't think so."

     "Why are you doing this to me?"

     "You challenged me to a competition, and I am now weakening your confidence and altering your perception of me so you understand just how formidable an opponent I would pose, if you choose. So, really, when you think about it, I'm doing a favor and letting you determine whether or not you'd like to declare me your enemy and have me fill the nemesis that has left. You feel the need to concentrate your hatred on one force, and you are sizing me up as a potential enemy. Don't think you can hide that. You can't."

     "Fine. I admit it. I find you a worthy opponent of mine."

     "Oh? Really? I cannot express to you how gratefully I accept this! Now, I would feel MUCH better if I had the honor of kissing your foot!" she said sarcastically.

     "Sure, I'd like that, enemy."

     "No!" Mel kicked him in the shin, and he fell down. "If you just announced us to be adversaries, do you REALLY think that I'd offer to kiss your feet? Ha! You've much to learn, Zim. I think that you could benefit from a little training."

     "Zim needs training from no human!"

     "Well, whether you officially call it 'training' or not, still, you'll learn just by my tactics I teach you during battles. Soon enough, you won't even regard me as a normal human anymore."

     "I don't."

_Respect from others is not nearly as important as keeping that respect in check so as to not become conceited._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception._

!! 


	14. Of Species and Logic

Chapter Fourteen: Of Species and Logic

     Tuesday. Dib must've already arrived on Falen, but Mel didn't care. Her life had changed, and Dib was but a mere attribute to a phase of learning. Gir was back at Zim's house already, and Mel was soon to live there. Oh, Zim still insisted that they were enemies, but she had a feeling that he'd cave at any time now.

     Gaz was apparently a Seraul/human, showing why she usually remained apathetic even when Earth was in danger, along with a general distaste for humanity. Dib was obviously a Falen/Seraul, and Professor Membrane was a Seraul, but somehow had gotten a good disguise long ago and fooled everybody. And Zim was, of course, an Irken.

     If Mel was an alien, it didn't seem likely that she was any of those species and she thought the idea unlikely, and she dared to go so far as to say that it was absurd. However, such a statement could hardly be used as a basis for determining the truth, for that's what Dib would've said only a month ago...

     The whole issue with Dib's emotions and everything that had occurred in the past few weeks was dead to her, and she was moving on. After all, Dib probably didn't think of her for another moment when the transmission ended. The phone rang, disturbing her from her thoughts.

     "Hello?"

     "Mel, this is Zim."

     "Oh, hi."

     "I've considered your offer to team up with me and...I've accepted. You may move in at any time now."

     "Thanks, Zim; I've already packed."

     "You have?"

     "Yep. Knew you'd let me. Knew it all along."

     "Well...just hurry up!"

     "All right." She didn't have much; she only carried her skool supplies and books with her. Everything that reminded her of Dib was discarded. Mel wanted to start her life anew and forget of her former friend who had forgotten her. Apparently, she didn't feel any pleasant ties with him anymore.

     Once Mel arrived at Zim's house, she shook his hand in greeting and saluted him. She dropped her book bag at the side of the couch and sat down, awaiting further instructions. When Zim finally came back, he had several compact disks with him, and he inserted one into the television set.

     "In case you still have any loyalty to humanity, I shall brainwash it out of you with these films."

     "Zim, do you really want to have an assistant who is brainwashed and can't think for herself like some kind of freakish zombie thing? I don't think I could really DO anything for you if that's the case. I'd become just another ordinary human and you'd have to dispose of me. That doesn't sound productive...no, not at all."

     "Then how do I know that you're not still against me?"

     "I never really was 'against you.' That just came up when I was Dib's friend and I didn't want to be against my own friend. I'm really backing you up; you've got to trust me."

     "But how do I know that?"

     "Zim, if I wanted to destroy this base...I would've done it LONG ago. Back when I still knew about all the tricks and defenses Dib encountered when he used to sneak in here."

     "Okay...but what if you decide you're Dib's friend again while you're here and try to get back at me for him?"

     "What kind of stupid plan is that? Everyone knows that the ultimate revenge is hardly killing that person. It's torture, both physically and emotionally, something I don't have the capabilities of doing here."

     "Then why did Dib try to kill me?"

     "Because of a prophecy that I would die painfully when Irk conquers Earth."

     "And you think he isn't concerned about your welfare?! Anyone who dares enter an Irken's base and try to kill him is either a fool or a fool in love! Doesn't he know that an Irken can't be killed in his own base?!"

     "Really? Cool! Then if I exploded you here, would you still be alive?"

     "There ARE exceptions such as that, but to stab an Irken in his base is asking for trouble, because when that happens, the first wave of reinforcements arrive!"

     "Oh no...Zim, you must stop them!"

     "Why?"

     "Because, Zim, if Irk conquers Earth, then I _DIE._ Do you not realize what this means?!"

     "Uh..."

     "If those reinforcements get here, Zim, I'll die horribly, and so will Dib."

     "I thought you said you didn't like that worm!"

     "I don't. Not even as a friend, anymore. But still--when someone's life is at stake, you've gotta DO something about it! You can't just stand around and watch!"

     "Oh, aren't you the hero?" Zim said mockingly.

     "Nope. Sure aren't. YOU are."

     "What? Me? Why me? I hate Dib!"

     "Stop whining and call off the reinforcements. It's my life in danger too, you know."

     "Oh...okay. I'll call it off..." Zim grumbled as he went below. "Filthy human."

     "I heard that!" Setting the transmissions device to contact the Tallest, Zim cleared his throat and straightened his posture.

     "Greetings, My Tallest! As an earth-monkey attacked me in my own base..." the Tallest grinned at each other in anticipation, "...I'm aware that you've probably already sent reinforcements to assist my mission of dooming this _filthy_ planet."

     "Uh...sure, Zim."

     "Well, I want you to...to call it off. I...have made a change in plans. Yes!"

     "Uh, we'll be seeing you, Zim," Tallest Red mumbled, "or hopefully not."

     "What's that?"

     "Uh, nothing! Nothing."

     "Then you're going to bring them back?"

     "What? Oh, uh...yeah, sure, whatever."

     "Thank you! Invader Zim, signing off!" Zim swiveled around to see Mel standing at the foot of his base.

     "Hello, Zim," she said rather nonchalantly.

     "What the--?! What are you doing here?! Why didn't the alarm go off?!"

     "You don't live in Dib's house for a month and not pick up on these things. Besides, I always keep a supply of cupcakes on hand."

     "Gir?"

     "Of course! Who else? The robot parents? Dib was right; your defenses DO need some tightening...tightening of a loose screw in Gir's artificial intelligence chips, that is. Did you know that Gaz is an alien?"

     "No..."

     "See, Professor Membrane really is Dib's real father, so that means that he's Seraul because Dib is a Falen/Seraul, and if he's really Gaz's father, then that means that Gaz is a Seraul/human hybrid, but she seems apathetic, a trait that is common amongst the Seraul. You're an Irken, so that means that I know...One, two, three, four, five...five aliens! Cool!"

     "Mel, you're talking too mu--"

     "And did you know that I've been aboard the Falish ships? They're neat! I was also brainwashed by some other aliens that are the same kind that put a price on Dib's mind and I was endangered as well! I almost died! And Dib tried to kill you just before he left, but now he doesn't care anymore because his Seraul emotion suppression thingy is kicking in and he's--"

     "Mel! Stop talking!"

     "Uh...thanks for snapping me out of it, Zim. I got a little ahead of myself in thoughts, there. Dib used to do that sometimes, but that stopped when he left."

     "Yes, but really, he doesn't like you--"

     "UFO? He had lots of UFO magazines, but they're in his old room right now because he didn't care for them anymore and--"

     "Mel, are you okay?"

     "--sometimes when you're an alien it affects you deeply and nothing seems okay, like it affected Dib. Imagine thinking that you're one species for your entire life and finding out that you're another? Imagine if you found out suddenly that, despite the fact that you look Irken, lived your life on Irk, and have no reason to believe you're not Irken, you are a human. How would that feel?"  
     "Mel! You really MUST snap out of it, now!"

     "Did you know that I've never seen Dib snap his fingers, but I have done so. I've snapped my fingers lots of times, even to sixteenth beats during an eight-minute-long song! 'Long' and 'song' rhyme! Did you know that? I make sentences inadvertently rhyme a lot; it's a habit of mine. Sometimes it gets annoying, and people tell me to shut up when it happens too much, but I don't pay attention, especially since they're idiots, much like the ones at skool who used to make fun of Dib before he left." Zim shook her back and forth, trying to get something to go back to normal inside of her.

     "MEL! STOP IT! STOP IT! ZIM COMMANDS YOU!"

     "W-what?"

     "That's BETTER! You stupid human! You're rambling non-stop, and this time not just to mess with my mind! Admit it--you don't like the fact that Dib went to planet Fali without you."

     "No; he isn't my friend anymore. He's lost his emotions."

     "But you wish he didn't, don't you?"

     "Yes, but--"

     "Don't deny it! He's still your friend, and if you talk about him one more time I'm going to go crazy! So call him up!"

     "I can't. I left the transmissions watch back at his house. I even...I even threw it away."

     "Then that's it. Guilt. Oh, you humans preoccupy yourselves with guilt much more than us superior Irkens."

     "Yeah, and you Irkens preoccupy yourselves with superiority much more than us humans."

     "You may use my transmitter, pesky human."

     "He should be on planet Fali."

     "Computer! Locate 'Dib'--half-Falen, half-Seraul, somewhere on planet Fali."

     Within moments, the computer had a target. "'Dib' found--do you want to be put into communications?"

     "Yes." Dib's image appeared shortly afterward on the screen, and Mel noticed that he looked ill. "Dib, Mel wants to talk with you."

     "Yeah?"

     "Yes. Mel, get over here!" Zim motioned to her where the screen was.

     "Hello, Kiana. How's everything on Earth?"

     "Don't call me that!"

     "It's a wonderful name, and it means that you are important. Why don't you like it?"

     "It's not that I don't like the name; it's what it represents. It represents that you've changed. I don't like that Seraul quality. It's made you different. You don't consider me your friend anymore. I bet that after I told you off it didn't affect you one bit."

     "Of course it did."

     "What?"

     "Kiana, I do care, believe it or not."

     "Then call me by my name."

     "That is your name."

     "You know what I mean."

     "All right, then, Mel it is."

     "Was it really so hard?"

     "No."

     "Isn't there anything that can be done to _stop_ this?"

     "No. Not when I'm alone like this. It would've really been nice if you'd come."

     "Then you mean...if I had come, you might have a chance?"

     "That's what I said."

     "What about now? Is there any way I could come now?"  
     "Not until in twenty years. It'd be too late by then."

     "Wait a minute...Could I take Tak's Voot Runner?"

     "Tak's Voot...I forgot all about that!"

     "Then I could take it?"

     "You couldn't pilot it, though."

     "Zim could! I'm sure he could!"

     "Yes, he _could_...but the question is, _would_ he?"

_If life is the opposite of death according to logic, then logic becomes a paradox, for such a conclusion is illogical._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception._

!! 


	15. Professor Seraul

Chapter Fifteen: Professor Seraul

     "Zim, please, if you do this, I'll...what do you want most?"

     "To conquer Earth," Zim said casually as he finished packing Mel's bags.

     "Well...beside that! What do you want?"

     "To stand over Dib's bloody corpse and make a giant mincemeat pie out of him!"

     "Ugh! I already told you, that one isn't happening! Besides those!"

     "Hmm...how about being ruler of the universe?"

     "Forget that! Come on, be logical and reasonable and sensible...and stuff. What will it take you to take me to Fali?"

     "Hmm...could I punch him until he's unconscious?"

     "No!"

     "That's my final offer."

     "Well...okay. I guess you could throw a few punches at Dib. I've never really seen you two fight...that'll be kinda neat. But still, don't zap his head off or something. Keep it small."

     "Okay...can I strangle him?"

     "No! I want to see you guys fight, though. I've never really seen an actual fight."

     "So, how many times can I beat him silly with a corkscrew before you go berserk?"

     "None. You just have to mention it."

     "Uh, really?"

     "Yes, really." Mel tackled Zim, poking his eyes and kicking him in the squeedily spooch. "Here's a trick I learned in first grade."

     "Good, it should be less painful." Zim's scream could be heard from a mile away. Apparently, Mel had twisted Zim's appendages into some sort of pretzel shape and had Zim's tongue caught in between two pipes of his base. "Mel? 'ould 'ou 'et me 'own now?"

     "Sure." She uncurled his arms and legs and pulled his tongue out of the crevice between pipes. Zim moaned in pain a little, and Mel brought out a washcloth. "Time to treat wounds!"

     "Thank you for--AHHHHHHHHH!" The washcloth was dripping with ice-cold water.

     "I'm so, so sorry, Zim," she said in false sympathy, "but these are things you must know before engaging in battle with a foe. By the way--you're welcome."

     "Mel, you're too kind."

     "Really? Or are you just being sarcastic again?"

     "Really, you are."

     "Well...thanks, then. I guess." She helped Zim up again, and decided to ask him a question. "Zim, would you like to stay on planet Fali with Dib and I?"

     "Why?"

     "Well, if Earth isn't going to be conquered, then you don't really have much of a mission left, do you?"

     "I guess not, but--"

     "You'll have to spend your time somewhere, won't you?"

     "Of course, but that doesn't mean that I--"

     "I _really_ would like it if you stayed on Fali with me. You're an excellent friend, Zim, no matter what Dib thinks."

     "R-really?"

     "Of course you are. Why don't we go now?"

     "Are you sure you're ready to leave Earth?"

     "Yes. I'm very sure."

     "Have your belongings?"  
     "No. What I have here I don't want to take. I want to take some of Dib's old things, though. It might remind him of what things used to be like. You might help, too."

     "I'm ready. I couldn't want anything else than what I have."

     "What about Gir? I mean...he's kinda high-maintenance, but we can't have him wreaking havoc here on Earth. I want to leave my planet, not obliterate it."

     "Yeah...Gir has that effect. I'll take you to the little ika's house right now, if you'd like."

     "Hey! Don't call him that!"

     "How do you know what that means?!"

     "I do watch the intergalactic equivalent of Jerry Springer, you know."

     "You do?"

     "No! I can pick up an insult from your manner of speaking, though."

     "Well...that's what he is!"

     "Crudely speaking, yes, but don't refer to him in a derogatory sense! You're mean."

     "I'm not mean!"

     "Can trying to destroy a species be considered 'nice,' then?"

     "You've got me there, but--"

     "See? Everything works out nice and orderly, logically, too. You just have to _look_ for the reasons why and the places where."

     "What does that mean?"

     "I don't know, but it sounds cool."

     "So...are we going to pick up what you're going to take with you?"

     "Wha--oh, yes! Yes, we are." Zim took her hand and ran up to the Voot hangar. He helped her in and piloted it to Dib's house. "I just have to get some magazines and things--you know, small things. I'll be right back out." Making her way up to Dib's room, Mel spotted a large pile of boxes. Within a minute, Gaz walked in with another box. "Gaz, what _is_ all this?"

     "Dad says we're moving."

     "Did he say where?"

     "Just said he was looking for Dib."

     "Then you guys are...did he seem angry?"

     "Yeah. It's strange. Usually he's calm and composed; you know, one of those scientific types."

     "He's after Dib! Maybe the Seraul have just as much purpose in mind for him as the Falish..."

     "Go away. You're bugging me."

     "All right, all right. I'll just be a sec." Mel darted into Dib's room, fearing what she might find. Slamming the door open and half-leaping into the room, she slipped on some unknown substance at the door. "OW! What on Earth was that?!" Looking around her, she saw that the room was no longer as it had been. It was draped in long, white sheets, and the floor was covered with slick, slippery plastic. Apparently, she had slipped on water that dripped from the ceiling, but it was a strange bluish color and seemed thick...it wasn't paint--it was an oddly colored blood, and more of it was dripping onto the plastic covering.

     "Kiana, what are you doing here?" a voice behind her said, and it wasn't Dib's, nor was it Riva's, Gaz's, or Zim's. Mel gasped. Professor Membrane was right behind her.

     "Um...I was...looking for Dib."

     "You're lying, Kiana." The scientist's voice was no longer its usual tone; it seemed to be more sinister, even more impassive.

     "I'm not lying, sir."

     "Then why do you fear me?"

     "That!" She looked behind her, seeing that he carried an ax, and it dripped with the same kind of blood. "That's not human blood! Did you kill Zim?!" Mel immediately knew that she had made the biggest mistake that anyone in her situation could make.

     "Zim is here?"

     "I knew it! You're Seraul, aren't you? Aren't you?! You're Dib's father, and you've made him changed! I knew he couldn't have become that emotionless over such a short period of time! You _made_ him that emotionless! You--"

     "What? What are you going to do to me?"

     "I'll show you what! Here's for ruining my friend!" Mel reached her hand backward into her backpack and took out a small blade, made entirely of white marble.

     "Is that a--?"

     "Yes, it is. It's a Lizaq. This knife is given only to Kivocs, and when they die, it disintegrates. Each is unique, as you know, and may only be used for the holder's greatest desires. This one is tailored to my preferences, and my greatest desire as of this moment is to defend my friends, because you sicken me. How _dare_ you call yourself Dib's father!"

     "To let you know, I didn't kill Zim, I killed Riva...and I enjoyed it. That enjoyment with this particular weapon gains me strength to kill you with better ease."

     "You're sicker than you let on, you know that? I'm a _child_. You killed your own son's mother. And besides, determination to right a wrong for a friend's well being is what heroism is all about, isn't it? And you know what they say--'A true hero is made through their suffering in order to achieve their goal, not through success.'"

     "In this case, though, success is all I need."

     "Quit stalling and fight me!" He brought the ax-like weapon down on her head, but she narrowly escaped by sidestepping into an open closet. While he was distracted, Mel leapt out and hid behind a wooden plank that was positioned at the opposite end of the room. Professor Membrane used the ax to split the board in half, but she saw it coming and ducked down. She kicked a mountain of boxes near the bottom, causing the pile to cave in and allow her an escape. However, he saw her plan and closed the door with his mind.

     "You have the ability too?"

     "Of course. All trained Seraul warriors have it. I just need a little exercise with it. Perhaps you can be my first victim here."

     "Maybe you'll think me a victim in the sense of losing a fight and fleeing, but in the end it'll be I who comes out victorious."

     "We'll just see." He directed a large dresser in her direction, and she slid underneath it. Focusing her energy at the same dresser, now planted firmly on the ground, the drawers came out and were flung at the professor. It was a hit. As he tossed them to the side, Mel quickly drew out her Lizaq knife and thrust it into the door where the lock mechanism is, and it opened. "Hold it!" he shouted, but she didn't look back. Instead, he concentrated hard and she was thrown to the side of the wall. She could not move.

     "I'll get out of this...you won't win this..." He laughed mercilessly, even more so than Zim would have.

     "Now it is only up to your weak mind to destroy you. You shall see the future, and it will be a horrific one, indeed. You'll be a raving lunatic--a real one. Now, just stare into my eyes when I remove these goggles."

     "No! No, you won't make me! You can't make me!"

     "I think I can. I will destroy your friend Zim if you do not look, as well as shove this ax into your stomach. That would worsen Dib's pain, wouldn't it?"

     "All right. But I won't let my mind fall apart! I will not let it happen that way! It is not to happen that way!" Forced to stare, she saw him remove his goggles. His burning, bright red eyes bore into hers, and she saw a flash of light as the scenery changed. She was now observing a ruined Earth, twenty years in the future. Soon, amongst the dead terrain, she saw a figure lying amidst the debris of Tak's Voot.

     "Help!" the future Mel cried out. "Help! Please! I'm injured! I'm stuck here! Someone!" A crowd of Irkens approached, Zim in front.

     "Here is where we stop to eat and rest for a small time! Then, we go on again, looking for more humans that may have survived!"

     _'What happened?'_ Mel thought. _'Why is everything so devastated?'_

     "Sir!" one of the following Irkens cried out. "Sir! There's a human, right there by that old, wrecked Voot Runner!"

     "Where?"  
     "There, sir!"

     "I see..." Zim approached the fallen Mel. "What, is everybody frozen? Move it along! Hurry up!" The other Irkens cautiously followed.

     "Is she dead, sir?" Seeing that it was Mel, Zim's eyes opened wide.

     In spite of the fact that she still breathed, Zim quickly said, "Uh, no, this one's dead. Let's rest elsewhere!"

     "Sir, she's breathing. She's unconscious, but she's still breathing."

     "I said move on!"

     "Are you _for_ these humans, sir? Because that's what it's beginning to look like." Some of the other Irkens nodded, and there was a disconcerting murmur.

     "No! Don't be silly!"  
     "Then kill her, sir!"

     "All right! I will! But first, I want to double check. I don't want to waste ammo on a dead human!"

     "All right, just hurry up!"

     Zim whispered into Mel's ear, "I don't know if you can hear me or not, Mel, but I must kill you. I don't want to, but I must. I'm sorry. Goodbye."

     "Well? What's the hold-up?"

     "Uh...nothing."

     "Here's a knife."

     "What about a ray gun?"

     "Nah, too expensive to afford. Here you go." Zim was handed a knife, and he turned Mel over on her back. He whispered a quick, 'I'll never forgive myself' and thrust it forth into her heart. She awoke, yelped, but then lost her strength.

     "Why...?"

     "I'm so sorry." Breathing her last breath, she died, blood still pouring out. "We will rest elsewhere!" Zim led the Irkens away, marching to an Irken war-song.

     Dib materialized around the site of the crash, now looking as a Falen with bluish skin, large eyes, and taller than before. He ran up to the vehicle when he saw it was only composed of stray red and purple sheets of metal, calling out Mel's name. "Mel! Are you here? Are you all right?" When at last he came to her, he checked her pulse and tried to revive her, but it was no use. She was dead, and had been so for about an hour. Crying for her and thinking of how she would still be alive had he not left, he didn't see another Irken come by, and was shot in the back. The visions ended, and Mel came out of her trance.

     "W-what happened?" she asked, seeing Zim at the door and Professor Membrane on the ground, unconscious.

     "I saw what he was doing and saved you."

     "Oh, thank you, Zim! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Nothing of Dib's is really here; let's leave immediately!"

_When something's a matter of living or dying, no one can really tell if it's good or bad, for with such a thin barrier between life and death or good and bad, it is hard to determine if it's worth fighting for._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception_

!! 


	16. Fali Failure

Chapter Sixteen: Fali Failure

Mel and Zim were out in space already, and neared their destination--planet Fali. Zim consoled her about what she'd seen by saying that the Seraul just project false images to make their enemies go insane and that he'd never kill her. This comforted her only a small amount, and she still worried. They landed on Fali by nightfall, and, fortunately, Gir had slept the whole way there.

Dib was staying at the Syvi Hotel, syvi meaning 'wanderer,' in room 101. Mel knocked on the door, and when he opened it, his eyes opened wide in disbelief. Some of his Falish features were beginning to set in, for he was thinner and taller, was turning a pale blue, and had larger eyes.

"What are you doing here, Mel?!"

"You knew I was coming."

"I would've never thought that Zim would take you--I'm so glad you're here!"

"And I'm glad to be here. Mind if Zim comes in? After all, he _did_ take me here."

"Well...okay." Once Mel had sat down on the bed, Zim walked in and punched Dib in the nose. "Agh! What was that for?!"

"Part of our agreement."

"Agreement?" They looked at Mel.

"Uh...Dib, I kinda said he could stay here. No harm, right?"

"No harm?! No harm?! He's an Irken! He'll try to zap us during the night! No way! Uh-uh! Zim is NOT staying in the same hotel room!"

-One painful hour later-

"Dib, fluff my pillow!" Zim ordered.

"Don't push it, Zim."

"So, Dib-worm, how'd you get any Falish currency?"

"I didn't."

"Eh?"

"Since I'm the one in the prophecy, everyone gives me stuff for free."

"Geez, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth."

"Yep...and Mel..."

"You're sick."

"What?"

"You were born with Mel and a silver spoon in your mouth?"

"That's not what I mean! I mean that I've got a friend. Otherwise, I'd be alone here."

"So, I thought you were supposed to be some cold-hearted Seraul now."

"Somehow...it just stopped. I can't explain how, but I guess...never mind."

"What?"

"Can't you hear me? I said 'never mind.'"

"Party pooper."

"Party pooper? That doesn't make any sense, you doofus."

"I thought you were the doofus."

"How would you know?"

"You admit to your doofus-ness?"

"No! How do you know about the argument?"

"Mel told me."

"She did?"

"Yep. She told me lots about you. Lots about the Dib that no one sees. The dark side of the Dib."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Oh, yeah! Of course it is! All you two ever did was argue! It's a wonder she thinks you're her friend, Dib-ika."

"Is that your latest insulting name for me?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Okay, then. But what _does_ she think about me?"

"She spoke really nastily about you when you first left. When she moved in, she didn't want anything to remind her of you."

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yep. I wonder what's on the tube."

"I'd better see how she is."

"Oooh! _All my Falens_ is on!" Zim yelled excitedly. Mel was currently in the bathroom, so Dib knocked.

"You can come in, Dib." He opened the door and closed it behind him.

"How'd you know it was me?"

She paused from brushing her hair and relayed a message telepathically, saying, "I know."

"I'm really sorry if I made you feel bad."

"It's okay. I'm fine."

"From what Zim said, you didn't want anything to remind you of me. I think that indicates a problem."

"I wasn't mad at you or anything, Dib. I was just...frustrated. Frustrated with circumstance."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"In that case, do you want to go watch _All my Falens_ with Zim?"

"Nah. I hate the Earth version. Plus, I'd hate to see the Falish version of Adam Chandler."

"In that case, do you want to get a bite to eat?"

"Sure. Zim! Zim, stop watching the Falish version of that twisted soap opera if you want to eat dinner!"

"Not now! I think that these two are getting together! No, don't kiss him! He's your long-lost-twin-cousin!"

"Ugh...that's...disturbing. Let's go now before I lose my appetite." They left, Zim anticipating the long-lost-twin-cousin make-out scene. (By the way--for those of you who are thinking _'How can there be twin cousins?,'_ this is a FALISH soap opera, and for different species, weird things can sometimes happen in those regards. Thank you.)

They arrived at a restaurant, the Tiw Deqa, (delightful taste) and they ordered what looked like spaghetti and a lobster-like creature (don't worry, it was dead). The topic for conversation was how the planet Fali was, and it wasn't until dessert came that Mel told Dib of what she had seen of the future.

"Zim's probably right, though. That won't come true. They were just trying to manipulate you."

"But...I had that vision before I even met you, and I've had it a lot since...and Dib, there's something else I must tell you."

"What is it?"

"Just before he tried to kill me, your father said that he killed your mother."

"He's lying."

"No. Some of the blood on the ax he carried dripped onto my clothes. Zim analyzed it, and it's a match. I'm so sorry...you must be so sad."

"It's all right. At least I _can _feel sad for her."

"Zim just barely saved me in time. I think I might've cracked at any moment when you were shot."

"It's all right. That's not reality, and it won't be. Don't worry."

"Thank you." They left and made their way back to the hotel. When Dib flicked the light switch on, he saw Zim sleeping in the bed, drooling.

"Eww..." Dib said. "I sleep there, you know. Get up!" Kicking Zim onto his side didn't help, so Dib kicked him off the bed, letting him tumble to the ground. Zim still snored.

"I'll get something to clean the pillow with."

"Clean it?! I'm not sleeping on a bed that Zim's slobbered all over in some sick dreams of his!"

"Fine, Dib. Have it your way. We'll turn the pillow over."

"Turn it over?!"

"Yes, Dib, turn it over. What is your objection _this time_?"

"It's still the same bed! The idea that you have me lying in saliva is sickening!"

"Oh, geez! You're as bad as Jerry Seinfeld! Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

"There _is _a point when that joke isn't funny anymore."

"Really? I've never reached it!"

"Well, you've just about reached it!"

"Will you keep it down? It's the equivalent of 11:00 at night!"

"Okay!"

"Good, because I don't want anyone coming up and complain--" Dib tossed a pillow into her face--the saliva pillow. "YUCK! Oh, you'll pay for _that_ one!" She smothered him with the same pillow, causing a greater ruckus than before. He finally got the pillow away, and threw it to her once more. However, this time she was just enough off balance for her to fall down. She fell backward onto Zim, who, when woken up, shoved her to the side.

"What are you doing, Zim?!" Dib yelled.

"Hey, I was half-asleep, Dib-ika!"

"Mel, are you okay? Zim, check and see if she's all right." Zim turned her on her side, and checked her pulse.

"Dib, this isn't good."

"What is it?"

"The atmosphere...she won't be able to take much more of it."

"Why just her and not me? I've been here longer than her."

"Stupid Falen! She's human! She can't take this atmosphere. I must take her back to Earth."

"Oh. Tell her I said goodbye and I enjoyed her company."

"I will. I'd better take her back right away."

"All right. Make sure that if she's conscious by tomorrow that she calls."

"Okay." Zim left, carrying Mel with him. A news flash interrupted Dib's thoughts.

"...and this new brand of snacks on an obscure planet called Earth has made the Tallest of Irk decide to take over Earth. It should be done within a few days, and humans, the inhabitants, obliterated. Here on Fali, though, the weather seems to be clear and sunny..."

"Oh no...Zim's gonna take Mel back to Earth, but it'll be destroyed...her vision _will _come true...no! I can't let it! I must stop Zim!" He ran downstairs, where Zim was setting Mel down in Tak's Voot. "Zim! No! You can't take her to Earth! She'll die!"

"What?"  
"Zim, the Irkens want to conquer Earth for its snacks. Mel will be there. It's supposed to be _destroyed_ in a couple days! We can't have that happen!"

"Don't worry, Dib-ika, I'll keep her hidden. No one will know."

"They'd better not, Zim, or I'll cut your throat open!"

"She'll be fine! Stop worrying, you little baby!"

"I hope so, for your sake!" Zim shut the Voot's top and they took off. An hour into their trip, Zim received a transmission from the Tallest.

"Zim? I thought this was Tak's Voot," Tallest Purple wondered.  
"It was, My Tallest, but it came crashing back to Earth."

Tallest Red pushed Purple to the side and said, "Well, I guess we're going to have to rely on _you_, then. You see, we need military personnel with invading experience to lead the soldiers when they do the narrow search for life and destroy it after we've bombarded the planet with lasers. The snacks have been taken to safety. So, how far are you?"

"Not that far. I'm just outside of the planet Fali, the third independent species."

"Is that a young Falen you have unconscious?"

"No, this is an Earth-girl..." Zim saw their confused stares and said, "I'm going to destroy her when I get to my base. She was...trying to attack me, so I want to destroy her properly."

"Eh, you go do that. And don't let us down!"

"Yes, My Tallest!"

"And remember, we say _don't_ let us down!"

"Yes, My Tallest, I heard you clear the _first_ time! I'll get right on it! Invader Zim, signing off!"

"We're doomed, aren't we?" Purple nodded.

"Our snacks!" he wailed. Zim guided the ship carefully on a course for Earth, remembering that he'd left Gir at the hotel on Fali.

_'Ah, well,'_ Zim thought. _'At least I have one less thing to worry about. I don't want to become a whiny thingy like the Dib-ika.'_ Mel still was unconscious when Zim landed the Voot at his base. The Irken military marched through the streets, and explosions were heard every now and then. Usually the ships didn't accidentally shoot an Irken base..._usually_. He put extra shields over his base just in case the unthinkable might happen. From deep within the structure, Zim watched the doom about him. Though he hated the human race with every fiber of his being and had dreamed of one day bringing the downfall of an enemy planet, he'd never actually conquered a planet. He saw the buildings crumble, one by one, and families fleeing. Every human in sight wore a coat of dust and a look of death, not even having time to realize what was happening, just hoping not to be another statistic.

His eye caught sight of a small girl, her face plastered with dirt, giving the term "dirt-child" new meaning. Her eyes were depressing and seemed as penetrating as the dark voids that were the ghost of eyes in an ancient skull, and she seemed not about to cry--she looked emotionless, cold like death, and did not flee in panic. Instead, she stood there like a stone and didn't even blink. An Irken machine that resembled a Megadoomer walked near, and she closed her eyes, as though resigning herself to her fate. Then, she did something unexpected. Without any further emotion than the giving up her eyes last held, she walked straight into the path of the metal monster and was crushed. Zim cringed and made a sickly sound of horror. He'd seen the fatal end of enemies, he'd caused a many incidents of miserable demise, he'd lived and thrived off the utter terror of screeching human earth-monkeys, but this...this could not be. This was not mere destruction. This was torture.

_And all for snacks._

Zim thought of the human in his base, the human he was currently protecting against orders. He was now a military official, and did not have the power to stop the invasion. It was going to happen, and was happening now. The end seemed to come nearer than thought. _'Her death will occur when the planet's skies cloud red and purple with the symbol of Irk....'_ The prophecy echoed in his mind, the one of ancient Fali, the one about to come true.

Dib still wanted to contact her, but Zim warned him of the danger that the signal might be tapped; they could not take such risks. Mel, who was now conscious, seemed aware of what was to come.

One day, while visiting her, Mel spoke to him. "Zim, do you know what I last said to him?"

"No. What?"

"The last words of mine Dib will ever hear are 'YUCK! Oh, you'll pay for _that_ one!'"

"You're going to live through this, Mel."

"No, I'm not. The prophecy says I won't, my visions say I won't, and...well, you're military position says I won't."

"Eh?"

"In my vision, you were a military leader in charge of a group of Irken soldiers. For fear of being discovered and being killed yourself, you killed me. That's how things work, Zim. You even told me you'd never forgive yourself, and you'd eventually commit suicide, but still, it'll happen, it'll all play out like the dark tragedy it is. The three of us will be dead within 72 hours."

"No. It won't happen that way. I won't kill you."

"There's no guarantee."

"I'll give you armor you can wear underneath your clothes. That way, if I do cave, you'll still live and have a chance."

"Hmm...not half bad. I like it."

"I've already fitted it for you. Here." Zim handed her a remote control.

"This is armor?"

"Yes. Press the button and it'll activate."

"Oh, I get it." She pressed the button, and smiled.

"Do you trust that I gave you quality armor?"

"Hmm...I know the real test. Take a knife and whack me with it."

"A knife? This is for lasers! A knife will cut through that armor like butter!"

"Ugh, how could you be so short-sighted? Irken soldiers carry knives, Zim."

"Why would superior Irken soldiers carry such primitive weapons?"

"Fool! FUNDING! Funding is the main determining factor! They can't afford to carry and twirl around laser guns and such!"

"But in all of the parades, they have--"

"A parade is a show like any other, Zim. You don't seem to acknowledge the barrier between entertainment and reality. If you really want me to be safe, fix it."

"Oh, okay...waste of quality materials...disrespectful human."

"I'm not being disrespectful! I'm just paying attention to the reality of life, Zim!" He soon returned with the altered armor. "Now...the ultimate test. Bring down a knife on me, if you are really so confident in the armor which you have entrusted my life with."

"Of course." Zim scrounged a knife from amongst his tools and thrust it into her stomach. However, it didn't penetrate. It didn't go through at all. "See? And when you press this other button on the remote, it activates a false-blood release, so that if someone strikes you on the armor, it'll appear that you're bleeding and you might be able to feign death if the need be."

"Ah...very impressive. Thank you, Zim." An alarm went off, causing Zim to divert his attention.

"Unknown vehicle entering the planet's vicinity!"

"What the--? Just a second, Mel, I have to check something." He pressed some buttons, and went back to where Mel lay. "I knew it! That filthy slug!" Though the term 'filthy slug' could mean just about anyone in Zim's frame of reference, Mel knew that he meant Dib. Putting two and two together, she realized what the situation was.

"Why is Dib coming here?"

"He probably came to 'check up' on you! That moronic ika!"

"What ship is he in?"

"I don't know...probably something he rented!"

"Zim, why don't you put him in communications?"

"I was thinking something along those lines myself... Computer! Contact the Dib!" Dib's image appeared onscreen.

"Hi Mel! Hello, _Zim_."

"Ika! What are you doing here?!"

"Why is that any of your business?"

"Do you want to get killed?! Actually, that _would _be pretty funny..." Zim chuckled to himself.

"Ha-ha. I'm coming to make sure that Mel's vision doesn't come true! The prophecy has to be proven wrong!"

"Then you don't care about all the free stuff back on Fali?"

"No!"

"Dib, what kind of idiot are you, anyway, entering Irken territory?"

"What are you talking about; I'm not human and I don't look human, either."

"Fool! It doesn't matter if you're human or not! This isn't your territory, and the Irken computers have surely learned of your presence by now! My computer detected you!"  
"So? It's not like I'm getting in their way."  
"They'll kill you anyway! It's forbidden to enter an Irken battle-zone!"

"Uh-oh."

"They're going to shoot you down at any time now!"

"I'll try to accelerate toward the planet."

"Just don't burn up in the atmosphere; Mel would be awfully distressed if we found you burnt to a crisp."

"I'm well aware of how to land a ship."

"Then stop talking and do it!" The image on the screen shook, went out of focus, and stabilized once more. "That must be them!"

"Yeah, I know!"

"Then take care of it!"

"I can't! The power's gone! Nothing's responding!"

"Fool! Activate the backup power! Hurry!"

"Where is it?!"

"I don't know; I'm not the idiot who rented a spaceship without knowing how to fly one!"

"Here it is!" His ship shook once more and the lighting flickered, dimmed, and died out. He was in darkness, and the picture fluttered. "I've lost all power! No backup left! Nothing's working, and I'm accelerating through the atmosphere quickly! Zim! Tell Mel that I tried to stop--" The connection was lost. Dib and Zim swore at the same time.

"He's dead, isn't he?" she asked.

"No...but it'll soon be that way. I'm sorry."

"Zim, I've got a plan, but I'll have to be careful. According to the current trajectory, about where will he land?"

"Not far north of here."

"I'll be on my way. If he survives the crash, he'll need medical aid in an instant. I need a medical kit for him, now. Can I take your Voot?"

"You're not actually planning on going out there, are you?!"  
"Yes, Zim. I am. I'm going to change the future. You just see."

"You're making a big mistake! I won't let you do it!"

"He might be out there, alive! Zim, I need to borrow your Voot so it'll give the appearance that I'm Irken. I've learned how to fly it already."

"Really? When?"

"You showed me how to pilot it in case of emergency on our way to Fali, remember? Well, I'd say this counts as an emergency."

"Okay, but we'll have to keep in constant communication. Good luck, Mel. If you should achieve your goal on this mission in success with your life, you deserve the title 'invader.'"

"'Invader' Mel. Hmm...I like it. Thanks, Zim. I'll keep in touch. I have to, after all. I won't fail your trust in me."

"I have no doubt in my mind that you won't."

_Sometimes it takes but the confidence people have in you to make you truly successful._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception_


	17. She Would Not Die

Chapter Seventeen: She Would Not Die

Mel, who was now in Zim's Voot searched in a northward direction for signs of a Voot crash, and still awaited the results of a scan she had run a few minutes ago.

"Crash detected." Her eyes lit up, and headed for the target. Unfortunately, so concentrated was her energy in finding this spot and getting to Dib in time that she didn't notice a fleet of Voot Runners in pursuit of her. An audio signal came through.

"You are an unknown craft. State your identity, purpose, and origination. Respond immediately, or be shot down." Panicked, she realized how lucky she was that there wasn't a visual--but they could always send one later. Keeping this in mind, she decided to pretend to be a Falen less than thirteen years of age.

"I am a Falen girl of 12.5, I have come to assist the wounded with medical supplies, and I have just come from Fali. Please, don't kill me. People depend on my help to live."

"These 'people' don't happen to be humans, do they?"

"No, of course not! I would never defy intergalactic law with such disobedience! Disobedience is not one of the ways of the Falish." She lied with the sound of legitimacy, and even fooled the trained officials.

"And how did you get a hold of that Voot Runner, little missy? It says on our scanners that it is a registered Irken vehicle and licensed to a certain 'Zim.'"

"Zim is one of the Irken military officials that is leading some of the soldiers to look for any survivors and terminate them. He gave me authorization to fly this Voot out for medical purposes."

"Can we confirm this?"

"Of course. I'm sure you'll find him in the listings of military personnel." She wasn't quite as certain as she sounded, though, as she knew how Zim could sometimes be slow on the uptake.

"Ah, yes...Zim. We'll contact him right away, but don't try to send a transmission yourself, or we'll suspect you of making false claims. If you do, we'll shoot you down." Mel hoped that Zim would catch on in time. She waited for several minutes before hearing a response. "All right. Your story checks out." Feeling a rush of gratitude and relief, she suppressed a sigh for fear that they might suspect Zim's falsified corroboration.

"Thank you, sir, for I am needed to be elsewhere."

"Wait a minute, you can't leave just yet."

"Why not?"

"Just one little detail...you're not Falish, you're human."

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"Not according to our scanners. Any human shows up in green, and you're green all the way."

"Then...you knew the whole time?"

"No. We don't actually have scanners. We just say that to get people to fess up after we pretend to confirm their story. Prepare to be blasted back to the Earth you came from." She gasped as the ships aimed their cannons to hers and fired. A blast that deafened all other senses made her ears unable to hear as the Voot blew apart and she was flung fifty feet into the air, landing on her back, her spine bent backward at an impossible angle. Blood seeped out of a long gash that stretched across her neck and face, and Mel caught a glimpse of the desert wasteland once before everything faded into a whitish fog.

For an instant, all sensation numbed and all pain relieved, she felt as though she was floating, apart from herself. Her awe-filled gaze was met by the girl who Zim had seen step into the path of a machine. However, she no longer looked destitute and ill with death; she looked peaceful and happy to be freed of her torment.

"You want your friends to be alive, don't you?"

"Yes...yes, I do."

"Then you don't belong here." The girl gestured behind her, "This is a place for those who have given up, thinking that nothing can be done to change the inevitable, and those who have not cared for others or given anything of themselves. This is what you'd call an underworld. I ask of them if they would like to give up and rest in peace, or try to help those in need. Since they see me as a figure of something 'heavenly,' they choose peace for themselves and not for others. They are condemned.

"Behind you, you may find what you may call a heaven--in terms to fit your mind as it is, perhaps you could call it a place for 'refueling,' so to speak, as it serves to allow those who deserve it peace for as long as they would like during their 'death.' In spite of this, many choose not to stay long, and want to get back onto their own physical realm in order to help others live. It is time for you to get back to your Earth now and save your friend."

"Thank you..."

"You are welcome, quite literally." With the feeling that she was falling backward, it all faded, and her eyes met with the burning sun. Unable to move, she closed her eyes and hoped that Zim would find her.

Hours had passed. It was now twilight, and she heard the familiar Irken marching song. Then...Zim's scratchy voice, commanding.

"What, are you slugs or something? Move it! Hurry up!"

"Sir! There's one!"

"What?"

"A human!"

"It's probably dead, you fool. Now, let's continue! A suitable resting place should be nearby somewhere!"

"Sir, it's protocol to check a fallen enemy and see if they're really dead or not. You don't want to defy protocol, do you?"

"Of course not! I'll examine the body!" Zim walked up to her, noticed it was Mel, and checked her pulse. He whispered, "I'll come back for you later, as soon as we come to a place to rest." She blinked in response, and Zim called back to his men, "Yep, this one's dead all right!"

"Let me see that!" A soldier pushed his way past the crowd and tried to get to Mel.

"Get away! This human is dead, and we can't waste time with it!"

"I'm beginning to think that you don't want this human dead."

"Of course I do! She is _already_ dead!"

"No, sir, she isn't. She's alive. I'm afraid you are mistaken."

"She's _dead_!"

"If you will not kill her, then I will!"

"No! I'd be glad to kill her myself! You were right! I made a mistake in determining her death! I'll kill this filthy myself."

"As you say, sir." The other soldiers backed away, and Zim requested a weapon. "Here you go, sir."

"A knife? Don't we have lasers?"

"No, sir. This is all we can afford."

"Oh..." Zim walked to Mel's fallen form and whispered into her ear, "I never actually switched the armor. I thought that they'd give me a laser. I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do; I'll never forgive myself." Zim held the knife high above her and sent it crashing down across her ribs. He thrust it into her shoulder and stabbed her arms. She did not die.

"Why, Zim...?" She would not die.

"I must kill you. I'm just trying to make is as painless as possible." He slit her neck, and her heartbeat slowed. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Well? Is she dead or isn't she?"

"She's dead now." Zim led his men out of the area and they set a camp nearby.

Dib's vehicle had crashed not far from there, but his foot was stuck under a large chunk of debris. Now that nighttime was nearing, he thought about death. Death--the one thing that had ruled his life for the past month. His death, the death of others, the death of his planet... As he quit struggling, he resigned himself to death. He closed his eyes and thought of what his life might have been like had he never been Falish...life saving the Earth from Zim, life being a paranormal investigator, life as a human...everything he thought he'd have. Nothing was his anymore, except for his life, and even that was dissipating into nonexistence.

His life was misery now. With nothing else on the horizon, death seemed a release from pain and suffering. Zim would probably gain power and rule over the Earth as a snack-planet. Mel would decide that he was just a part of her past and live her life as Queen of the Snack-Planet. She'd be rich and successful, forgetting all about what Earth used to be. The vast oceans and endless skies, the woodland creatures and ocean shore ecology. Would she remember any of it? Or would she just move on and forget her humanity?

Dib felt a sudden, inexplicable rush of purpose, a feeling of being needed, and thought of another way to free himself. Digging furiously at the loose soil and intermingled sand for at least twenty minutes, a small opening presented itself. He dragged his broken foot out and got out on the open dirt. Running as quick as a camera flash, he headed toward the approximate direction of Zim's base. Persistently attempting to ignore the stinging pain that shot up his injured leg at every step became a rigorous task, one that he felt he could not keep up for another moment, but still overcame this and tore through the increasing winds like a bullet through tissue paper.

As he came upon the Voot crash, he knew the reason for his determination. Mel's vision hadn't come true twenty years in the future--it came true in the present.

"Mel, is that you?" He ran up to her, saw what had happened, and checked her pulse. She was still alive. "You didn't die. You won't die." Taking her hand, he smiled, and knew irrefutably that she _would _live. Miraculously, her knife wounds began to heal over, and her heartbeat quickened to a normal pace. Her eyelids fluttered open as though awakening from a deep sleep, and he helped sit her up against the Voot wreckage.

"Dib? Is that you? Am I dead?"

"No, you're not dead. You're alive." Some fireworks shot up into the sky, draping the Earth in a blanket of red and purple with the Irken symbol standing out against it.

"It might've been a dream, but I was dying from the explosion, and I was sent back to revive you. I don't understand that, though, because you saved me."

"If you hadn't been injured here, I wouldn't have tried to free myself. I would've died there."

"So...in a way, we saved each other."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm sleepy." She yawned and lay facedown on the sand. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He kept watch during the night, and when daytime came, he slept and she kept watch. After they were both well rested, they went back to Dib's ship to get emergency supplies.

"Hey, Dib, what's this?" she asked, holding up the charred remains of what looked like a book.

"I don't know; let me see that." He took the book, brushed some of the dust off of it, and read the title. "Alien Update. This is the book you loaned me."

"Whoa...it sure looks different from the last time I saw it." She tried to open it, but it crumbled in her hands. "That's too bad. That book was one of my Christmas gifts."

"Your books are probably the only things we have left of humanity."

"Yes...the only _artifacts_, that is. But really, the greatest legacy a human can leave is their mark on the universe. But _we've changed the course of the future_, that's the true legacy and it can never be touched. You're right. We're alive. All of us are alive. That's what counts. My vision was true, and yet it was false. Ideally false."

"You're right."

"I'm so thirsty! Isn't there any water around?"

"No, not that I know of."

"Maybe Zim will have something for us."

"Zim?! He tried to kill you yesterday!"  
"Yes, but he didn't want to. I'm sure he'd be relieved if he knew I was alive."

"Okay. We'll go tomorrow morning."

_When you are convinced that you're about to die, that your life is over, you think of things you may never have thought. It leaves a profound mark on someone, a mark that cannot be seen from the outside, but something that must be sensed on the inside. _

_Before one can understand the motivations of a human, they must first be aware of their immense ignorance of not only the world and universe around them, but of logic and themselves. What humanity can perceive out of all things to be known and understood is a far more incomprehensible percent than the most distant stars in relation with the Earth, something which most likely will never be put into true perspective for humanity._

_Animals are thought of as primitive, but they are in touch with the most complex workings of nature and what it is to truly have a grip on life and death. They understand the cyclic pattern of all life, and are simple organisms thus. However, evolution itself is survival of the fittest, no matter how simple or "primitive" it is. So, in a way, creatures become "more evolved" like humans, and then back to the old ways as true evolution would have. In this way, there is no ultimate point of evolution, for it is yet another cyclic motion the universe runs on rather than the one-direction path that many perceive it as._

_Life and death are thought of as antonyms. If they are antonyms, they're the most similar antonyms I've ever heard of._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception_


	18. The Phantom Wandering

Chapter Eighteen: The Phantom Wandering

Mel and Dib left early in the morning so they would not get too dehydrated. They packed the food salvaged from Dib's mangled ship and were on their way long before dawn. By the time they reached the remains of the Voot Mel had used to travel, it was around 2:00 in the morning.

"Are you sure that's the way they went?"

"Positive." She pointed out into the distance, facing a southeasterly direction, and sat down on a large boulder to rest. "Hey, Dib? I was just wondering something."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever thought of setting up some kind of school for the paranormal?"

"I don't think I've thought of it, but it sounds like a good idea."

"Yeah, because I've always kinda liked teaching, and I was thinking that it might be a good direction to go if we...well, live through this. I mean, how well is planet Fali aware of that stuff? I mean, sure, aliens are common knowledge and nothing unusual, but what about other things, like ghosts and other psychic phenomena? You never really know.

"Do they have establishments for such things? I've only heard of one accredited parapsychology course on Earth, and it's at John F. Kennedy University in California...or _was_, I should say. What's it going to be like on Fali in those regards?"

"I'm not sure. Who knows, maybe we could introduce it to them."

"Quite a project. I wonder how open the general public would be to the unknown there. Or is it even unknown to them?"

"We'll just have to find out."

"Yeah. That is, if we ever get out of this place...I wonder if anyone else is gonna survive besides us."

"After we get water from Zim, we could always check. We could save those still alive and bring them to Fali. Oh, wait...we can't bring them to Fali..."

"Why not?"

"The reason you had to be taken back here...you can't breathe in our atmosphere." For the first time, it dawned upon her that her friend was an alien. She said he was a Falen/Seraul loosely, but it never had really impressed upon her in the way it should have.

"Oh...there must be something we can do...where else could I go, anyway? I don't want to stay here on this death-planet."

"Maybe Zim will come up with something. I'm sure he's dealt with this type of thing before. Come on. We should go now."

"You're right. We can talk about it on our way." As they walked on the barren wasteland, as it had become, they saw corpse after corpse, all unmoving. Mel checked each pulse carefully and looked for respiratory signs. None were present. Walking through that graveyard they once called home was eerie, and it sent shivers down their spines. Mel was tense and grew very pale in the midst of death. Screams were heard, but no one was around. It seemed that the dead had left a psychokinetic mark on the slaughter sites, and their yells of anguish and horror echoed in their minds. "I can't stand this! I can't take this! All this death! All for snacks! I can't believe this! I'll go insane!"

"Mel, don't worry! There's nothing you can do about it! Calm down. The death is over. It's just an echo."

"I know that...I can't...I can't...I don't..."

"I understand. Now let's move. It's dehydration that's getting to us."

"I'm so cold..."

"We'll get there soon. Just keep going."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm not going to remain alive when all these people have died. I don't deserve special treatment."

"Keep going. We'll get water soon. Then we'll be able to help people."

"All right." They kept walking, wondering if they'd ever find Zim. An hour passed. "I can't keep going. I'm too thirsty..."

"Don't talk then. You'll waste your energy."

"Thirsty..."

"Swallow your saliva. That might help your throat a little." As they neared the site where the lasers had first struck, they saw crowds of people wandering around aimlessly.

"Hey! Come here! We lived too! Look, Dib! People! They lived!"

"Mel, those aren't people."

"Yes, they are! Look!"

"They aren't living...they're..."

"Oh."

"They're only shadows of the living. Haunting the site. Replaying the same actions they did when looking for loved ones, just before they themselves died." It was depressing, seeing the forms of those once living, still hunting for their lost relatives and friends. People of all ages were wandering, from the elderly to the infants. This phantom world...this was once Earth. She contemplated on this, wondering if it was like this every time a planet was massacred.

Soon, they came upon Zim's campsite. It was nearing 4:00, when the soldiers awoke from their tents and scoured the planet for more survivors.  
"I'll go find Zim. You stay here."

"You're just saying that because I'm a girl."

"I'm saying that because you're my friend. Now, stay here. I'll find him."

"Okay. You know, you really look different now that your Falish characteristics have set in."

"Really?"

"Yeah...it's a good kind of different, though. I like it."

"Thanks." He searched for Zim, but didn't have any luck until he was stopped from behind.

"What are you doing here, ika?" It was Zim. Dib turned around, and Zim saw who he had just halted. "Oh, uh...hi, Dib...nice weather today, isn't it?" At these words, Dib seized Zim, grabbing him by the shirt collar, and threw him to the ground.

"Why did you do that to Mel?! Why did you try to kill her?! Huh?! I thought you said you'd never do that!" Dib continued to yell at him, including a number of curses I'd rather not list, until finally he'd punched Zim repeatedly in the jaw, leaving him with a bloody nose. "What were you thinking?! You stabbed her, you cut her neck, you...I feel like killing you! Don't ever get near her AGAIN, you sick, twisted--"

"She's not dead?"

"No, thank goodness! I'd have just killed you if she were. No...I found her just in time."

"She was as good as dead when I left her, though."

"Sometimes things don't work out the way you'd like them to, Zim. Now, I'll let you go if you give her water and find some way for her to stay on Fali with me. I wouldn't trust her around you."

"I could call some of the guards right now, and they could kill you."

"Yes, but...well, that option wouldn't be so pleasant if you value your life..." Dib pulled out a knife from his coat pocket and pressed it to Zim's neck. "One word out of you to get their attention, and you die. Now, help us."

"For the meantime, since they're getting up right about now anyway, I've got an extra tent you could hide in, but you couldn't talk or even move in there."

"Okay... There's a start. What about water?"

"I don't have any of your precious water!"

"Find some!" He pressed the blade closer to Zim's neck.

"All right, all right; I'll get you some stupid water."

"And find a way for Mel to breathe on Fali."

"I can't do that!" Dib cut into Zim's neck a little.

"Is that your _final_ answer?"

"I'll find a way!"

"Good. Now, I'll hide, and you tell them to go find another location without you. You're going to stay here and help us."

"I never even intended on harming Mel, Dib-ika!"

"Until I know that for sure, this is a precaution I'll have to take." He shoved Zim to the ground and ran for where Mel was. Zim, fortunately, instructed his men to go on without him, and appointed a new leader for them. Once the coast was clear, he waved on Dib and Mel. "She's dehydrated, Zim, badly. Water is the first priority."

"All right, I didn't know it was for her." From behind him, Zim pulled out a canteen full of water. Mel drank from it gratefully until there was about three-quarters of the original amount left, and then handed it to Dib.

"I always was known for my charitable qualities." They saved the second half for later, when they might need it to a greater degree than merely requesting it on a whim.

"What do you need now, Mel?" Zim asked.

"Maybe some cover. I didn't sleep last night, too."

"This is my last emergency tent," he said as he showed them a little remote control.

"_That's _a tent?"

"Put this little drill thing in the ground and press the button."

"Oh." She did so, and they had an Irken tent, perfectly made. "Zim, why don't we work things out inside the tent? I've been outside since my Voot was shot down." Inside, Zim tried to describe the complications of altering a creature's lungs to be able to breathe another atmosphere.

"It is a risky operation, but it just might work. The Falish and the humans have similar breathing mechanisms."

"Zim, just make sure you don't botch the surgery, or Dib will kill you. Literally."

"Okay. I just hope I have sufficient materials."

"You'd better!"

"So," Dib began, turning to Zim, "once this operation is through, she'll be able to breathe both atmospheres?"

"She should. The Falish have more tolerant lungs than humans. That's how you've been able to exist here your entire life, Dib-ika."

"Oh." The three of them stood there, glancing at one another every now and then. "Uh, when's this going to be?"

"Right now, if you'd like."

"Okay, but you'd better know what you're doing, Zim! If you do _anything_, and I mean _ANYTHING_ wrong, I'm placing the blame on you, and you're going to be dead before you can blink." Zim gulped.

"You'll have to wait outside, ika, or I'll lose my concentration. It's a very delicate operation, and I can't have _you_ screwing me up."

"What?! What if you try to kill her?! I won't be able to stop you!"

"Unless you want there to be a problem where she won't ever be able to talk again or something, you'd better stop getting me angry!"

"All right, I'll go. Just be careful."

"Of course I will. I didn't want to hurt her." Dib left the tent, and Zim lay her down on a slab of rock. "I'm sorry about the crudeness of this...you'll have to be conscious."

"Don't Irkens carry around anesthetic during warfare?"

"Yes, but that would be poisonous to you. It's either this or nothing."

"What is involved, exactly?"

"Well, I'll have to clear some of your throat passages, widening them in some areas, thickening in others, altering the configuration of some nerves--"

"You're gonna stick your hand down my throat and cut it up blindly?!"

"No! I've got a mechanism that goes in and does the work."

"Oh, okay."

"It's going to hurt a lot, but you've got to keep perfectly still."  
"I'm good at keeping still."

"Good. That may be the difference between life and death. And try not to scream. Not only would it disrupt the operation and perhaps render you mute, but also the Dib-ika would probably come in and ruin everything. It's my job to guide this thing so it doesn't tear your esophagus into pieces. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Painful, but fine."

"All right, Zim. I think I'm ready. But couldn't Dib be in here? I'm sure that he's less likely to disrupt the operation if he knows what's going on."

"Oh, okay. Dib, you can come in!"

"Is it already over?"

"No! Mel just said that it'd probably be best if you were in here so she doesn't scream in pain."

"That's not what I said, Zim!" Mel told him angrily.

"Be quiet! Well, Dib-ika, she just wants you to see what's going on. She knows what's happening, so don't pester me with questions when I'm trying to operate."

"I won't pester you! I don't want her to be hurt either!"

"Just stay put."

"Can't I do anything to help?"

"Yes, you can hold her head still to make sure that she doesn't move. Mel, keep your mouth as wide open as possible." Dib did so, and she kept her mouth open. "This will hurt a lot, but you _mustn't_ scream!" Zim pressed a button and guided the metal arm down her esophagus. He controlled it with buttons and a joystick, and there was a view of the inside of her throat. It was excruciating, and if it weren't for Dib keeping her from moving, it would've hurt worse, for the mechanical arm would've torn the fragile tissue. "Almost done...there. That should be good." The arm retracted, and Mel breathed a sigh of relief. She fell sound asleep without a moment's notice.

"Got any blankets?" Dib asked, facing Zim.

"Eh? Why?" When he pointed to Mel, Zim nodded. "I might have something. I'll be right back." The Irken left and returned shortly afterward with a thick, quilt-like blanket and wrapped it around Mel, then tossed Dib a scratchy and stained green one.

"_This_ is a blanket?" He held it up against him, but it only reached to his knees. "It looks more like a napkin than a blanket to me."

"Be grateful that you're alive, Dib-ika."

"What, you don't like the Falish species either?"

"Not since I found out that you're one." Dib threw the blanket over Zim's head in anger.

"I don't need a blanket anyway. I'm keeping an eye on you. I can't afford to blink."

"Suspicions can destroy; prejudices can kill."

"What, now you're quoting Rod Serling?"

"Yes."

"You're just being hypocritical when you say that; you're the one who's prejudiced against humanity _and_ the Falish, you know."

"Hmm...I never thought of it that way."

"Well, you are."

"Hey, now that I've wiped out humanity, the only one left is Mel, and I like her."

"So now it's just the Falish."

"I guess."

"Zim, is it normal that after the eradication of a species you see them walking around and screaming?"

"You mean the Phantom Wandering?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Of course. The planet is in touch with its inhabitants, and when they die, it helps kill the world."

"So that's why everything's drastically different..."

"However, the planet has a kind of replay mechanism, and that helps sustain it longer. Sometimes it is very brief and only once, but other times it's repetitive and lasts for years. You should know, Dib-ika; you've talked enough about it during Ms. Bitters' class when you weren't yelling your head off about me."

"I have?"

"Yeah, only you called it something else...ghosts, spirits--that stuff."

"The Phantom Wandering...and to think...the three of us could've been a part of it."

_Zim was hasty to kill off humanity, but he didn't look at the logical sides of the matter. Murder is a greatly misunderstood concept, especially those who wish it on other people or commit the act themselves. For it is not the fact that they die that brings guilt, but it is our subconscious knowing that its desire for that death or their actual physical actions is often the cause of that death by method of psychokinesis or the 'fate circumstance.' This set of theoretical laws of physics indicates that when someone wants something so badly, they will unwittingly make the conditions right for the death or other desire to occur. Zim, along with his guilt, probably are the result of the 'fate circumstance,' and sometimes it is thought that a higher mechanism of the mind may be at work, trying to teach the conscious mind a lesson about death and what a life is really worth._

_Sometimes, what we've desired most ends up to be our worst nightmare._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception_


	19. Escape to Fali

Chapter Nineteen: Escape to Fali

Dib, in spite of his vow to keep watch on Zim, fell asleep on the ground, and had to be woken up.

"Ika! Ika! Get Mel and get the heck out of here!"

"W-what?!"

"The Irken military officials are checking up on this camp to see if I'm doing an adequate job! If they find you two, you'll be killed!"

"When are they coming?"

"It's a surprise check-up! They're here!"

"Mel! Mel, get up!" Dib leapt to his feet and shook her. She wouldn't move. "Zim! I bet it was that operation of yours! She isn't moving!"

"She's probably just unconscious because of the adjustment! Carry her out of here!"

"Where are we gonna go?"

"Get to my base! I have an extra Voot for emergencies that you can take, because it wouldn't be long before they came and found you there!"

"Where do we go?"

"Anywhere but Earth!" Zim shouted as Dib tried to carry Mel. After a moment, he asked, "Well? What's the hold-up?"

"I can't carry Mel by myself and get away in time."

"Oh, geez, can't you do one simple task?"

"Just help me!"

"All right!" They were knocked to their feet from the vibrations of a landing vehicle that was obviously _much_ larger than a Voot Runner. "No time! I've got to greet them so they don't know what's happening! There's no way you can escape now--you'll have to find a place to hide."

"Where?"

"That metal box should escape most scanners they have to detect hidden people. Hide in it." Zim pointed to a box in the corner and left the tent to greet the officials. Dib was unsure that it would fit both of them. He tried to configure Mel and himself in such a way that they might fit, but it was no use.

"There's only room for one of us, Mel. Which one of us will be saved?" Though he didn't particularly want to be killed, he couldn't be so cruel as to take the hiding place himself and selfishly leave an unconscious Mel lying on the floor, just waiting to be discovered by Irken officials. While he knew the inevitable decision, he wanted to hesitate just enough to the point where it seemed like he might get out with his life. During this time, he thought of what Mel had said in a fight with him as she described him wanting to defeat Zim for personal gain and nothing more: _'You may have saved lives, Dib, but believe me: you are no hero.'_ Finally, he knew he had to make a noble sacrifice. "The next time you see me, I'll be dead. Goodbye." Setting her down gently in the box, Dib closed the lid and stood, facing the tent opening, thus facing death.

"And here is--Dib! What are you doing here?!"

"Then you mean this Falen is an intruder and not an assistant of yours?" the Irken official asked.

"No, of course he is! I just thought he was out on a search with my other men, looking for other surviving humans."

"Hmm...lack of control, unaware of the location of his personnel, generally doesn't handle surprise well...and...that's it. Inspection is over. Good day, sir."

"Good day...sir..." the ship took off once more, and Zim shouted at the terrified Falen in anger. "Dib! Why did you have to be out?! I thought I told you to hide!"

"Uh...there wasn't enough room."

"Did you hear those marks on my record?!"

"Yeah, sounds like they're pretty strict. You need to clean up your act and keep tabs on all personnel, and keep control of yourself, not to mention learning how to handle surprise well and--"

"That's enough! Those are serious marks! It could tarnish my record forever!"

"Well, hey, at least they didn't think you were hiding anybody. I bet that could've destroyed your record...heh, heh."

"Not only destroy my record, but _kill_ me!"

"Whoa. Good thing they didn't kill _me_. I should get Mel out of that box now." Dib helped her out, and she became conscious within a moment's time.

"Hey, Dib, I had the weirdest dream."

"Really? What was it?"

"Well, I was in a Voot Runner with you, and we were on our way to Fali. Zim called us from here on Earth, though, and told us to be careful of attack because the Seraul were near. You thought he was joking, but we _were _attacked, and it _was_ by the Seraul. We crash-landed on a planet, and you were unconscious as the Seraul descended. They shot us, and that's when I woke up. You were unconscious and we were both killed."

"That won't happen."

"How do you know?"

"I knew that we wouldn't die when Earth was destroyed, didn't I?"

"I guess, but--"

"See? We'll get to Fali. I promise."

"Okay. I trust that."

Zim spoke, "You two had better head on to my base if you want to get to Fali anytime soon. We don't seem to be having much luck on this stink-planet. After all, until the Phantom Wandering stops, we can't build any snack factories or other buildings. Sure, some won't go away, but most of them will stop sooner or later. Right now, though, the planet is in a state of unrest. Hurry, while you still can."

"Thank you, Zim," Mel said. "We'll be leaving."

"Goodbye, Mel, be sure to call me!"

"Of course I will." They darted off, running as fast as they could for fear of being seen and killed, and eventually made it to Zim's base.

"Oh, no, I left the canteen back at the tent!"

"Dib, guess what I've got..."

"I don't know, what?" She grinned deviously. "The canteen?" Nodding her head wildly, she showed it to him, but pulled it back when he tried to grab it. "Come on! I just want a drink!"

"Really? I didn't know you were 21."

"What are you talking about; I'm not 21--oh, I get it. Humorous. Now give me the canteen."

"You didn't say 'please.'"

"Please. Okay, now can I have it?"

"Okay."

"Thank you."

"Five bucks."

"What?! I just want a little sip!"

"A sip?! You'll need to pay up big-time, then, because a sip is ten dollars. It's on sale today, though, so it'll be cheaper."

"Really," he said unenthusiastically. "How much?"

"Free. Here you go; take all you want. It's on me." She handed him the canteen; he drank a little and then handed it back. "So...the school thing...is that still a plan?"

"Sure."

"At least the curriculum will be interesting. School was always boring for me...they didn't really teach me much of anything new, and as far as learning socially...well, I learned that there are a lot of jerks out there. Wouldn't it be great? Making school interesting and teaching students to _think_ instead of just memorize stuff? We'll be teaching them whatever subjects they choose and actually get them involved. It'll be incredibly...incredible!"

"Let's get going. We'll draw up the plans for it when we get back." After a bit of searching, they came across Zim's emergency Voot, which was slightly smaller, and got in.

"Fire it up." He started it up and soon Earth was long gone. Mel got the dreadful feeling in her stomach that she would never see her planet again. Fali...she had a new life ahead of her. In thinking of the planet she left behind, she thought of the alternate reality she had left behind. Her family was still there...they wouldn't know what happened. She hoped that someway, somehow, they would know that she was happy and safe.

"Mel, what classes would there be in the school?"

"Well, you'd _have_ to have parapsychology and astrobiology..."

"Astrobiology?"

"Perhaps you're not familiar with the term, but it means 'the study of star life.' Of course, that's the literal definition. It's really the study of alien life. That'll take research. Let's see...I know of the Irkens, the Falish, the humans, the Meekrob, the Vortians...of those I only know stuff about Irkens and humans."

"You know stuff about one Falen."

"Well, yeah. I know about the Falish prophecy we're involved in, physical characteristics, the Old Language, how names are derived, and how they speak telepathically. Aside from that, I'm not really sure."

"I just remembered...Gir is in the hotel room...by himself...and he's been alone there since I left."

"Oops."

"Oh well. How much trouble can one robot get into, anyway?"

"I wish you didn't say that."

"A lot?"

"Um...yep."

"I kind of figured...but we're alive, at least."

"Yeah...we are, aren't we?"

"Mel, do you think you'll miss Earth?"

"Yeah. I won't particularly miss the people, but I'll miss Earth. I love Earth, just not the majority of humanity."

"If we're going to establish a school and play teacher, we'll need to learn the Old Language. That's what they teach with, I hear."

"Ah, yes. Well, maybe they'll have one of those program things where you just watch it and you'll remember or it teaches you during sleep or something."

"Yeah. Besides, it'll be a while before we can get anything like that set up; it'll require funds, time, and a lesson plan."

"So, you want to be principal?"

"I guess. I don't know. I'm thinking that there won't be just one principal like in Earth schools. We could run it together, as co-principals."

"Yeah, that's a plan. What about teachers? Is anyone on Fali educated about the paranormal? Is it even considered acceptable there?"

"They seemed to be more in tune with that than humans from what I could tell."

"Hmm...you're probably right. Well, in case we can't find other teachers, we'll be the only teachers. That would mean that no more than two classes could be in session at a time, though. Plus, I'll have to teach you about how to teach."

"You think you know enough to teach me?"

"Yeah, sure."

"How?"

"I'm a year older than you, I've been interested in teaching ever since I can remember, and I even have teacher's catalogues at home. Teacher's catalogues! The kind that are mailed only to teachers! I got it from my fourth grade teachers. That was cool."

"Well...I guess that qualifies you."

"And I hardly think you can count having Ms. Bitters for a teacher as experience with teaching. I've gotten really good teachers throughout the years."

"You're lucky. Try having Mrs. Snotz for kindergarten through fifth grade."

"Some horrible teacher, huh?"

"Yeah. Then I get Ms. Bitters...at least I could try to convince the students that Zim's an Irken when she went on a doom lecture."

"See, there's an advantage! You got more time to think rather than just sit around being bored! Actually, I never did any of the class work in class. I always did it right before school started on the day it was due."

"Really? You procrastinator! Why did you stall if it was so easy?"

"Simple. I just didn't want to bother doing pointless stuff that I already knew all about. You know, when I was in fifth grade, we were learning about the planets of the solar system. I knew all about that when I was in first and second grade! I even knew that there were traces of oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars by the time I was eight!"

"Whoa."

"Yeah, whoa and giddy-up. When the test came, I missed a couple questions because the book was so out of date! I mean, what kind of idiot thinks that the Earth's orbit around the sun is a perfect circle? Some of the morons in class got an A+, and I think _that's_ a pretty good indicator of how screwed up a test is!"

"What did the teacher say?"

"She said that the test was 'on the book' and that she had to grade it by the answer key. I told her that I knew what the system was, but that it was ridiculous to give people credit for writing disinformation on a test! I mean, what's the purpose of going to school if they don't teach you the facts?" (This incident actually happened to me.)

"Well...we'll improve the system."

"Yeah, I don't want any student of mine to lose credit for being right." At around that time, a transmission interrupted them.

"Dib-ika! Mel! Hurry up and get out of there!"

"What are you talking about, Zim?" Dib inquired.

"The Seraul...they've found your signal. They're going to try and shoot you down!"

"Zim, are you joking with us because of Mel's vision?"

"He's not...Dib, this _is_ my vision, coming true right now!"

"It is? Uh-oh." Their Voot met turbulence and they were flung to the top of the vehicle as it spun in circles. Screaming, Mel grabbed for something to hold onto and keep her stable.

"Dib! We've got to stabilize manually! The controls are useless if we're spinning aimlessly!"

"How do we do that?!"

"I'm going to try and activate the emergency air pressure valve! That should equalize the general balance and stability of the ship!"

"Good thinking!" As they were hit again, they both screamed, but the vehicle righted itself in conjunction with the hit and moved steadily forth. The lighting flickered, and Mel was trying to get the emergency power supply online.

"It's not working! The shields have taken enough! One more blow and we're done for!"

"What should we do?!"

"Grab the controls! Try to get us out of the danger zone! I'll repair the electrical energy conductors and life support systems!" Taking out a key, she pulled a string through a hole in it and tied both ends to some metal hooks. With the aid of a slab of wood, she jammed the key into a small indentation. "There! That should be adequate enough for power to circulate temporarily!" She slammed the compartment door shut and glanced out the window. They were spiraling downward toward the surface of a planet. "The Seraul! Hurry! Get us out of here! We're going to die!"

"Not this time!" He swerved the vehicle back, directing the Voot straight toward the Seraul fleet. Looming ahead of them like death itself, Dib appeared to be attempting suicide.

"What the heck are you doing?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?!"

"I know what I'm doing!"

"I sure hope so!" He accelerated the Voot, and Mel closed her eyes. The ship vibrated violently, and she thought she'd vomit from the G forces involved. Soon, they were through it--the Seraul ships were apparently so bulky and large that to turn all the way around would take a little while and weaken their power. "Whoa...how did you think of that? Did you get it from _Star Trek_ or something like that?" Dib chuckled at this.

"Nah, it was just an impulse action."

"At least your first impulse wasn't to go crash-landing down on that planet."

"If you hadn't told me about your vision, I might not have reacted properly."

"Well, it's good that I have a sense for these things."

They arrived on Fali by the end of the day and went to their room. Gir, fortunately, was deeply involved in a weeklong _All My Falens_ marathon.

"YAY! Everybody's hugging again!"

"Uh...yeah... Gir, do you know where my books are? I can't seem to find them."

"Oh...there they are!"

"Gir...that's a box of chicken."

"Oh...I gave them to the chicken guy! Pavements, he says."

"Uh-oh...Gir, you gave away my rare books from Earth as payment to the chicken guy! How could you _do_ that?!"

"Did I do that?" Gir giggled insanely.

"Yes, you _DID_ do that! Those are my only books that I have with me! They're from Earth! All other copies have been destroyed! GRRR!"

"Yes?"

"Not you! Dib, we've got to get the books back from the chicken guy!"

Dib sighed in frustration. "Oh...all right. Gir, where's the chicken guy from?"

"Here!"

"No, I mean which restaurant he's from."

"Chicken Palace!"

"Okay, we'll look it up...oh, no."

"What's wrong?" Mel asked.

"There are approximately 57 locations of Chicken Palace in the county!"

"Uh...that would be...bad, right?"

"We'll just have to call them and see."  
"Let the night of the high phone bill begin." He called them, one by one, and as luck would have it, the fifty-seventh location was the one Gir had ordered from.

"You still have them? Good. We'll be right over. Thank you."

"They have my books?"

"Yeah. We're going to have to leave right away, though. It's about...30 miles from here."

"You've got to be kidding!"

"No, I'm not. Well...we'll have to go by Voot Runner."

"Wait...Gir is here. I don't want to unleash him onto the world to wreak doom and havoc. I'll stay with Gir."

"Okay. See you soon."  
"See you." He left, and Mel dragged Gir from the television. "Gir, as much as I like to see you watching something other than a stupid monkey, I want to talk to you, and I'm afraid the TV will have to go off."

"Oh..."

"However, I do think you might be interested in what I have to say. Well...no, not really, but if you listen to me intensely then I will reward you with a cupcake."

"Mm!" Gir squeaked.

"Okay. See, right now I'm living here on planet Fali, Dib's home world."

"Yay!"

"Not 'yay,' Gir."

"Oh..."

"I mean, I'm sure I would get along here fine, but...it's so different. And my family misses me, and I miss them. Sure, being on another planet is such a rush, it's...absolutely amazing. I swear, it's incredible. But I'm not going to kid myself on this one. I don't belong here."

"Then where do you belong?"

"I wish I knew the answer to that question, Gir. I wish I knew." Dib returned fairly quickly, considering the distance, and Mel made up her mind to tell him how she felt about staying.

"So...you don't like it here?"

"It's not that I don't like it. I just don't think I'll be happy here. It's not where I belong."

"Do you want to go back to Earth?"

"I...I don't know. I didn't think that I'd want to go back after it's been conquered, but...it's my home, and I don't want to abandon it just yet. I don't care about living in danger and always having to watch out for death. That's what we've been doing and still are, isn't it? And the Seraul are bound to find us here. Why don't we just leave without checking out and go back to Earth?"

"I don't know... I mean, this is my planet. I want to live here. I _do_ belong here."

"But you were born on Earth. You're mother said so. Come on, we can find survivors; we can rebuild Earth! We can make it better than it ever was before! We can--"

"It's not going to happen. We'll just have to accept life on this other planet. You're just in denial that Earth is gone. You've got to face reality."

"No, I'm not in denial. Earth isn't gone. _You're_ the one who's gone. I thought you cared enough about humanity to try to save it from destruction."

"It's different now. I'm not human."

"Maybe not by whatever definition you refer to, but you've lived on Earth your whole _life_, Dib. Do you think that suddenly looking different and finding out that you're another species really changes who you've always been? It's all in your mind. This change in emotions and thought processes is all because you think that it should go that path. It doesn't have to. As far as I'm concerned, you're still human."

"That's pretty far-fetched."

"Oh, yeah? Well, wouldn't you say that maybe Bigfoot was far-fetched? Doesn't matter now anyway; if there was a Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster, it's dead. Everything. No matter--you get my point. Maybe on the outside you're a Falen/Seraul, but on the inside, you're as human as I. It's just a matter of coming to terms with it."

"You make a lot of sense. I almost believe you. But I have been a Falen all my life, but I didn't know it."

"Didn't you notice that everything started changing when you _found out _that you were not human? Anything that makes you different from humans you've had your entire life as well. If I suddenly found out that I was an alien, I'd still be the same person, but I'd be affected greatly. It would change my outlook on life. But inside, I'd still be the same. You're human. No matter what you look like or what planet you're on, you'll always be human. That's something you _can't_ change. Now, whether or not you're coming, I'm going to live on Earth. It's my planet and yours too, but if you want to abandon your species, you will. I can't stop you."

"Mel, wait."

"Yes?"

"I will come."

"Excellent. Let's leave immediately. We'll organize a search team to find humans that have survived."

"Great. Let's get in the Voot Runner now." He flew it back to Earth, Mel wondering what they would find. Landing near Zim's base, they got out and ran up to the door. Zim wasn't inside, though, and scared them by tapping on their shoulders.

"Do you two _need _something?"

"Uh, yeah. Mel wants to have a search team to save any survivors."

"What?! I'm not going to assist in saving the lives of humans!"

"You helped saving ours."

"Yes, but--"

"She really wants to help Earth. And so do I."

"But this planet is gone! The Phantom Wandering has begun, and I'm trying to _destroy_ humanity!"

"Look, Zim. This isn't about what you're trying to do or want to do. It's about what we want to do. We won't bother you anymore. We just need directions so we can be on our way."

"Well, you'd better head north if you're going to evade Irken soldiers. No one goes there with the Phantom Wandering because it's too intense. But you might be able to make it."

"Thanks," Dib said, running north and dragging Mel behind.

"Yeah, Zim. Thank you for not trying to kill me this time!"

"I told you I didn't want to!" Zim pleaded.

"Of course I believe that! Really, I do!" She was out of earshot a few seconds later, and Zim stared at her for a while, knowing that they would never be seen by his Irken eyes again unless he did something. Once they were out of view, Zim lifted his feet from the ground, tensed, and took off after them.

"Wait! Wait! Mel, wait!" Zim caught up to them and waved his arms desperately in the air, hoping for them to stop.

"What is it?" Dib asked, annoyed.

"I want to go with you two."

"You _what_?"

"I want to go with you."

"I thought you were dedicated to the _destruction _of humanity."

"I was! I don't want Mel to go with you alone, though."

"Any why _not_?"

"Because...because...because she knows nothing of what you are!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you know _why_ the Irkens call the Falish 'ika'?"

"Because you're saying that we're primitive."

"No. Well, yes, but there's a specific reason. You see, the Falish...usually when they fall in love, they...they...they prey upon the females!"

"What? I'm not even in love. She's just my friend. I'd never do that, anyway. I can't believe you'd lie about my species like that, and in front of Mel!"

"It's not a lie! Why do you think your kind is dying, Dib? Food was running out as the population grew, so you resorted to cannibalism and took the females as your victims! Ever notice the lack of female Falens? Even your father killed your mother just days ago! It's the habits of the Seraul as well! The Irkens perfected the system, though, and broke away from the Seraul and the Falish habits!"

"Wait a minute, _broke away_?"

"Yes. The Irkens are a subspecies. We're the cross between a Falen mother and Seraul father." Dib swore.

"Then that's what I'm turning into. But why have I not always been..." he could barely bring himself to say it, "...Irken?"

"Simple. Your parents played with your DNA. You are supposed to end the war that's been going on between Fali and Seraul, but instead you've just made it worse. Even though you settle some of the political arguments, now they're wondering what planet your citizenship is in! If you choose Fali, the Seraul will attack, but if you choose Seraul, the Falish will attack. It's chaos!"

"We've left both planets. For good. Earth is my home."

"But Dib-ika, if you don't decide by the age of thirteen, war will break out!"

"That's really screwed up. Anything I do ends in war. Great."

"Of course it is! Before I knew that you were a Falen/Seraul, I thought that your name was just a coincidence, but you're going to start another branch of Irkens. They have other test subjects, and it's likely you'll marry one of them."

"What? No way, I'm not going to marry someone just because they've been tested on like me."

"Yes, you are. You're going to marry the one named Kiana."

"No I'm not! Besides, Mel isn't even a Falen or a Seraul, or a Falen/Seraul."

"Then you mean that she is Kiana?! She must come with me, then! I can't have your ika filth slobbering all over her!"

"Geez, I don't even like her as more than a friend. I hardly think I'm at the point of 'slobbering all over her.'"

"You know what I mean! I can't have things elevate!"

Mel stepped into the conversation and said, "Elevate? Oh, geez, Zim, do you really think that things will elevate? I wouldn't go out with him until the world ended!"

"Uh...Mel..."

"Or even if the world ended!"

"But didn't you go to the dance with him?"

"Well, yeah, but that was nothing serious. It was just to get back at you, you know. Sorry, Dib, but looks like you'll have to wait for somebody else to come along."

"We'd better hurry if we're going to make it to a safe spot soon. We need to head further into the Phantom Wandering."

"All right, but you know what?"

"What?"

"If we die because of you, I'm going to kill you."

"How can you kill me if we all died?"

"Oh, I'd find a way."  
"What about a survival plan? I know! If we run out of food, we eat the Dib!"

"No way, Zim! You're not eating my friend!"

"It's not like he's your property! I can eat him if I want to!"

"No you can't! Just because you're an Irken doesn't mean you can go around eating people!"

"He's not a people! He's an ika!"

"No, he's a person!"  
"Ika!"

"Person!"  
"Ika!"

"Person!"

"IKA!"  
"PERSON!"

"I said he's a--Mel, do you feel like we're being watched?"

"Yeah...and I don't think we're being watched by anything human...or Irken...or Falish...or--"

"What do you suppose we're being watched by? A Vort scientist?"

"No...something beyond this realm of reality. Something...different." They turned their heads sharply around. "Where's Dib? He was here just a second ago..."

"I don't know...I saw him a minute ago too, but he's gone. Let's go before something happens to us."

"No, we're staying here. Just hold my hand. It'll work out okay."

"Are you sure?"

"No, not really."

"Mel, I have the feeling that we're about to be attacked."

"So do I."

"Duck down!" Zim pushed Mel to the ground, and she looked up at him.

"Nothing's here, Zim. Why did you tell me to duck down?"

"There _was_ something, and there still is."

"I don't see anything."

"Of course you don't _see _anything! But it's there!"

"Zim, have you finally cracked up?"

"No...we've got to get out of here! I don't care what happens to the Dib-ika, you're getting out of here alive!"

"We're not leaving without Dib! I'm not going to abandon anyone just because I start to get a weird feeling of being watched!"

"The Irken officials have probably discovered us! We need to get out of here, now!"

"No!"

"Why must you be so difficult?!"

"I can't explain it. It's something I just know I have to do. Something will occur that is important to me." Zim stood nervously with her, clutching her hand tightly.

"Whatever you feel is important about staying, I trust you completely."

"Why this trust, Zim? Why would you care for a human?"  
"You're...different from them."

"So I am... So I am."

"What do you expect to gain of this waiting?"

"I expect to gain nothing except for being able to live with myself. We must try to find out where Dib has gone. I can feel it."

"Is it the destruction of your world that has affected you in such a way?"

"Is it the knowledge that you can never return to your position as a military figure among your people that has destroyed your confident mask of deception and hatred?"

"I suppose I can't get that by you."

"Not much does, these days."

"You humans have families. How do you feel being apart from them?"

"Unsettled, but still very grateful for the fact that they do not know of this madness that has been rightfully invoked on my kind."

"How do you think the Dib is affected?"

"What is this, an interrogation? Since when did you care if Dib was concerned about anything?"

"His state of mind might very well be the determining factor of whether we live or die."

"Life, death, it's all the same to me. I'll die some point in my life anyway, and I really don't see how it matters under what circumstances that happens."

"It does matter when those who care for you live beyond a fatal tragedy."

"And that, my Irken friend, is why I must try to teach Dib the reality of things--there is a thin line between life and death, tragedy and ecstasy, love and hate--it's all in an intermingled mesh of whatever this existence is or isn't. That way, he will mourn my passing no more than he does the loss of..."

"An ice-cream?"

"The comparison makes no difference. You understand the point I'm making. Death is not something to shed tears over, though it is considered respectful of the dead."

"Do you think this death will come soon?"

"It already has. Whether I am the one to die or not, the actions have already taken place, and I predict that sometime in the near future, one of us three will be dead under what is considered 'tragic' circumstances. If it is me, then...well, inform the Falish and tell them to contact the reality I come from and tell my family I am doing well here. In that event, I wish no one to know who doesn't have to."

"I promise."

"Thank you, Zim. I appreciate that."

_The definition of what is considered to be 'noble' is highly debatable, for an action that may be noble to one person may be entirely ordinary for another person and be done without thought. In addition to this thought, it is curious how people say that it is good for children to 'make the mistakes they must make' and that they will learn and grow from these errors. To err is to be human. If the preceding text is accurate, then to learn is to be human. Humanity is full of errors--but what exactly have we learned?_

_Confusion and paradox is the basis of logic._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception._


	20. Earth Tears

Chapter Twenty: Earth Tears

Mel felt compelled to remain at that spot, and Zim could not persuade her to move. She stared ahead, seemingly at nothing, and the Irken pleaded long into the night for her to move, should Irken soldiers find them and slaughter them.

"No. I'm not moving."

"The Dib is _gone_. You must accept this."

"He is not gone. I am staying here for more than one reason, you know."

"Human, you cannot do this--"

"I'll do what I feel like! If you want to leave, then do so! This is my choice, Zim. This is something I must do."

"Your days are numbered, then."

"I am well aware."

"Don't endanger yourself like this! If you want to be stupid, do it some other way!"

"I am not acting on stupidity or whim or feeling. I am acting on something else. Something I don't fully understand and can't translate into words, but it is mutually known. You do know the feeling, the detection process that indicates an electro-magnetic presence. Don't tell me you are ignorant of that."

"What is wrong with you? Something else is at work; you're right about that. Stop acting foolish! We'll never find Dib if we wait here, and he won't find us!"

"That is why I remain here. I have to allow him to accept me as disappeared and not dead or alive for certain. In that, if I do die on this world, this reality, this plane of existence--whatever you want to call it--he'll never know. He'll have hope. A hope he can cling onto for the rest of his life. Something that can't be taken away from him. That is what I seek."

"Mel, if you do not leave on your own, I'll have to make you leave."

"Really," she said rather than asked. "How?"

"By force, no less."

"And how do you propose to force me?"

"I could threaten to leave myself and kill Dib on my own. Personally, I don't care for the stink-creature. The only reason I count him as my ally is because of you, and if you're going to give yourself up to this death-hole that you once called home, I might as well kill him too."

"I do not lack confidence in the fighting capability of either of you. He'll be enraged that you left me here, and that will strengthen his want to kill you and determination to succeed."

"Yes, but with anger comes fear, and that will weaken him."

"He won't let that cloud his perception."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Very sure. I don't want either of you to die, but it must happen. One of us three _will_ die."

"That is certain. You do have another option, though."

"What is that?"

"If you don't want either of us to die, you could have yourself killed."

"And I suppose you would kill me? Oh, thank you, you are too kind."

"As a matter of fact, I would."

"I don't think that you _could_. Do you have the guts to raise your weapon of choice over my head and slaughter me for good? I'm not even sure that I _can_ die in this reality, or else there would be an imbalance in the one I come from--the reality from which I left would have a case of missing matter."

"There is an easy way for that to be compensated. Ever hear of the matter compensation effect?"

"Fill me in."

"When matter is displaced into an alternate universe and then cannot be returned in its former state, it will cause a cosmic imbalance and force a black hole to form. With this extreme overload of matter, it must be emptied somewhere--into the black hole--and released into an additional alternate universe. This alternate universe will create an opening into the one you came from and send an equivalent amount of matter back there, so as to alter it slightly from its reality of origination--this one. Death can occur, but only when the proper conditions are set. Those conditions are set now, human...I could easily kill you."

"Perhaps physics would allow, but I don't think your mind would allow."

"You may die anyway. Maybe something resulting from the surgery will cause you to choke or something. The universe will decide. You have no control, human. You only have the _illusion_ of control."

"I am perfectly well aware of the 'fate effect.' One receives information about a possible future whether they are aware of that information or not, do something intentionally or subconsciously to prevent that from happening, and their actions end up being the very cause. Yes, yes, I know. But I don't think you will kill me."

"I've tried it before."

"Then prove you can do it in the situation where you are not pressured to kill me."

"Aren't you pressuring me now?"

"I am challenging you. If you think you can make this happen, then do so. You never know when there might be a quirk of time."

"True. You _are_ a pitiful human, though, and that I can't forget. We are enemies, and as such, I will destroy you without regret!"

"Do you think you can?"

"Of course I can!"

"We'll see if you can handle an implied pressure, two voices in your head telling you with equal intensity both to kill me and not to kill me. It is up to your desires to overrule those thoughts."

"Prepare to die!" Zim searched for a ray gun and aimed it at her.

"Are you really going to kill me like that? With the push of a button or the pull of a trigger? Don't you think that it's enough of a loss of dignity that I'm not even going to make an effort to stop you?" Zim retracted the gun and searched for a knife.

"'One stab through the heart to kill, seven times more to enjoy,' goes the old saying."

"Do you think you'll enjoy killing me?"

"You're a human! I enjoy the deaths of humans!"

"You said I was different from them--do you think that the same rules would apply if I am different enough for you to consider me as your ally and companion?"

"Don't try to talk me out of it!"

"I'm not afraid of the death at hand, Zim. Even you can tell that. What do you think motivates me to preserve my life?"

"Love."

"Love? For whom?"

"For...yourself, I guess."

"No. I do not act out of love. My motivation, unfortunately, is much more primal, but we _all _share it, at least those of us who are still trapped within the limits of physical existence."

"Survival instincts?"

"Right on the nose. Even though you don't have a nose, so I don't think that idiom would have as much impact or meaning for an Irken."

"These aren't survival instincts that drive you to continue, Mel...it's guilt."

"Guilt? Of what?"

"You regret something."

"That can hardly say anything about someone, Zim, for we _all_ have regrets. That, along with survival instinct, is one of the concepts that remain constant in all sentient beings, from what I can tell."

"Something major. Something...your life. Something about your life that has affected you greatly...I know! It's the destruction of the Earth! The destruction of humanity! That's what has you so somber!"

"Not the destruction of my kind, Zim. It's the fact that I once wished for this thing to happen, and not only that, but to cause it myself. Yeah, you heard me. Something I wouldn't tell Dib if I were to be tortured and dangled over the deepest body of water. It's a secret I'd take with me to my grave. I used to want to see this catastrophe! I wanted this horror to be real! It was one of my desires that I daydreamed of! The destruction and absolute obliteration of my kind, even if I could not go on to find the answers to questions I've been asking of myself since I was two! There aren't any answers to be found, but I must persist. Why exist if I can't do something productive or at least seemingly productive? Alas, this is the reality I've come to know."

"Then I won't kill you."

"I knew you'd come around. You just can't kill me...at least not yet."

"We must hurry! The Irken officials probably have a tracer on us now! We've got to find a cavern that their search signals won't penetrate!"

"No! That's what they _want_ us to do! As soon as they see the signal disappear, they'll know we're hiding and that we're trapped. Then it's only a matter of capturing us or blowing us up. We've got to find another way. Is there any way to block the signals while remaining mobile? That way they'll trace us, but we'll be in an entirely different location!"

"Elaborate."

"Well, let's say we had a form of shield, a 'lead umbrella,' if you will. We hold it over our heads and run like heck! They'll think there's a cavern there and they won't know what to think!"

"The only way to diffuse the signal is by method of Verinian--an alloy--but there's nowhere we can get it!"

"Are you sure? Wait...what about a Voot Runner? Is that made of Verinian?"

"Yes, of course."

"The Voot wreckage! When I crashed, it was left into scraps! It just might work! Come on!" Mel took Zim's gloved hand and headed for the crash site. They arrived shortly after and carefully inspected the remains. "Yes...this just might work. We'll take another piece with us, just in case we find Dib and he's on their scanners too."

"Good idea."  
"On the count of three, we lift this over our heads, and run. One...two...three! GO!" They lifted the scraps, Mel carrying the extra one, and headed northward. On their way, she got the compulsion to explore a nearby cave. "Hey, Zim, let's go in here. It'll give us a break from holding these things over our heads."

"Okay. Sounds good to me." Upon entering, they lowered their shielding and saw a bright, yellowish luminescence farther ahead of the natural alcove.

"What's that light? Is it a part of the Phantom Wandering?"

"No...I've never heard of such things in the stories...have you?" Mel smacked his forehead for sheer stupidity.

"What do you make of it?" Zim shrugged. "Ugh! Well, I'm going to find out." Zim dropped the scrap of Verinian he had gripped so tightly and ran after her.

"Don't be too hasty! It might even be a group of Irken soldiers!"

"Okay. Let's take the quiet approach." Creeping along the sides of the enclosure, they stealthily made their way towards the lighted area. "Oh my God...Zim, these are...these are...these are _people_."

"Probably just from the Phantom Wandering."

"No, no...I can tell the difference. Apparitions and hauntings have characteristics that distinguish them from this...there's the same air of death, but this is of a different nature entirely... Do you realize the significance of this? People still live, Zim. There is a chance. It's slim-nil, but still...it's a chance all the same." Mel grabbed Zim's hand again and led him to the circle of people. Among them, she noted, there was an old lady with half of her face burnt and charred, a young boy of about ten with an arm missing and his ear torn off, a man without hands and his face contorted impossibly, and a small girl of about eight years with her face and arms covered completely in ash and dust. It seemed, at first, that this was the only injury she suffered from the many explosions, but when she turned to face the other way, it became known that a small part of her spine was jutting out and that she couldn't move her neck. In the middle of this was a slab of stone with a boy of about thirteen resting upon it. Though the glare from the flames partially concealed their view of him, she noticed his jet-black hair and a pair of cracked, bent-up glasses set crookedly upon his nose like another set of eyes and knew immediately who this was.

Stepping out from the shadows, she called his name: "Dib?"

Zim tugged on her arm, trying to hold her back, convinced that this was another part of the Phantom Wandering, but it didn't work.

"Leave me alone, Zim!" This not being successful, she kicked him in the squeedily spooch and toppled into the center of the circle. Not caring of the surprise and confusion this caused, Mel righted herself and studied her friend with a look of misery. He wasn't breathing. Checking his pulse, she found none.

"He is gone," the old woman spoke. "We found him lying down outside, collapsed." Mel looked up to her, back down at Dib, and then up again at the woman. She continued, "We're going to give him a ceremony in the fire. He will be returned to the Earth from which he came."

"Don't you notice that he's...not human?"

"Yes. But he did not destroy us. He tried to help us."

"How do you know?"

"When he became conscious, he said, 'Earth, my home...Mel, failure.' Then he died."

"Are you sure that he's...gone?" She nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I know that death is nothing to be sad over...nothing to cry over...and yet I find myself crying for the loss of my friend."

"We are sorry for your loss." The people in the group bowed their heads down in silent respect. After a minute or so, they brought their heads up once more and witnessed something spectacular. Mel wiped a tear out of her eye, and, with her index finger, rubbed the wetness on his forehead.

"You thought you weren't human just because you're another species. Today, I prove you wrong. Here are human tears, tears you would have coming out of your eyes this moment if you were alive. These tears, these Earth tears, are yours to keep eternally." One by one, the others wiped a tear from their eye and did the same. Finally, Zim stepped from the shadows, forced a tear out, and, in spite of the burning pain, placed it on his former enemy's head. This great respect for the dead they never knew inspired awe in Zim and Mel. At the Irken's sight, they recoiled in fear and distrust.

"One of the destroyers! He's here! He's here!"

"Don't worry; this is Zim. He's on our side now. I know that. I've offered him many opportunities for him to kill me and he hasn't taken a single one of them! I've been utterly defenseless when he has high-tech weaponry and offered myself to be killed, but he doesn't accept. If I tell him not to kill you, as my friend, he will obey."

"As you are the deceased one's surviving friend, you may choose his form of burial."

"He will be returned to the Earth. We'll dig a spot and cover the dirt over him. We can make a gravestone, too. I can't...I can't believe he's gone..."

"Do you want to say your final goodbyes?"

"Yes. Yes, please."

"Would you like to be alone?"

"Yes." They backed away to a darker part of the cave, and she held his hand. Cold. Lifeless. "I can't believe that this has happened. Such an improbable event. I can't believe it. What happened to you? It's not your time to go. I know it isn't. It wasn't my time at the Voot crash, and this is not your time. I can feel it. Such peace...I wish not to disturb you from that peace, though, and whether I want to have you back among the living, I must allow whatever is taking place to take place. I'll miss you, though. As a hero...and as a friend." Zim approached her and patted her back.

"It'll be all right. I'm sure he's happy, and he wants you to be happy."

"I know that, Zim...it's just an adjustment. It's something that will take getting used to." As she relaxed her grip on Dib's hand, she felt him squeeze back. "What? Oh...I must be imagining things..." In spite of these words, his hand didn't let go, and he even held on tighter. "Zim, I think he's..."

"That's impossible. He's dead."

"I don't know, Zim, it feels like..." She timidly reached her other hand for his chest, and his heart was beating. "He's alive! Zim, he's alive!"

"What?! He was just dead, though! You're going insa--he _is_ alive!" The crowd of people walked forth and noted that he was very much alive.

"She has a healing touch! Her tears revived him!" His eyes slowly opened, and Mel propped him up against the side of the cave. Waving her hand in front of him, she tried to get him to respond.

"W-where am I?"

"You're here with us, Dib."

"Am I dead?"

"No, no...you're alive. You're as alive as the rest of us. Zim, get me some water or something."

"I don't have any water," he replied.

"Then food!"

"I don't have any--"

"Get him something else, then! He's just awakened from being dead, and I think he deserves _something _out of it!" The people handed some scraps of moldy, dirt-encrusted bread that was as hard as wood, and Mel scraped the mold and some of the dirt off. "Here. Have some of this." Dib made a face, for it wasn't too appetizing, but when he realized the nature of the gift--precious, hard-to-come-by food--he accepted. Tears of joy streamed from her face and down her cheeks. They handed her a flat rock, and she collected the tears on it. "Lick this. You're very dehydrated."

"Uh...do I have to?"

"Yes, you're voice is terrible. You can't go forever without eating or drinking." Reluctantly, he licked the rock of its teardrops, and thanked her for it. "We'll have to rest here for the night. We might be able to move tomorrow, depending on how well you feel." He slept, and stayed up all night, watching him.

"Mel," Zim said, "you've been sitting there all night. You need sleep."

"I just don't want to fall asleep and wake up to find that he was dead the whole time. If it is a dream, I must prolong it. If not, I can't let him slip back into death."

"Suit yourself." Eventually, she did nod off, and Zim awoke her the next morning. "Mel, wake up!"

"What?"

"Mel, wake up! You were having nightmares!"

"Then you mean...wait, we're in the cave still. I couldn't have dreamt it."

"No, but you started screaming in the middle of the night about Dib dying again. You were acting as though Irken soldiers were invading this location!"

"We'd better move out of this cave place, though, because you know my record of dreams and the future."

"Yes, I know. But Dib is seriously ill, and can't go. Everyone else is packing up. I told them to move on without us, and we'll catch up later."

"He can't go with us?"

"No. He can't even sit up. It's something like a fever, but much worse. He can't move."

"You can't possibly consider leaving without him!"

"Why not?"

"Because! We're together, a team; we have to stay together."

"I'm not a part of that. If the Dib can't go, that's his problem. I'm saving my life."

"But Zim, please, be reasonable!"

"I _am_ being reasonable! I'm not going to wait here to die just because Dib can't live."

"I'm staying here! Won't you stay here, uh, to..._protect me_?"

"No way! If you want to be stupid, that's your choice! Follow my example! You have to think this way during war!"

"Abandon my friend? Abandon my friend who I have solemnly sworn to stick with, through thick and through thin? Abandon my friend who has saved my life? I will not betray him just to save my own self!"

"I speak not only for myself, but that is what he told me. He says that if you truly care for him as your friend, you will leave with me. Come along, now. What he has is highly contagious. It could kill you, too."

"I can't. I'm not going to leave. That's too cruel. As I said, death will occur no matter what I do, whether in the next few minutes, days, weeks, years, decades...but I only get the chance to stand up for a friend so rarely. And if I leave now, I couldn't return. I would be forever ashamed of my actions, and I wouldn't feel right about living. Perhaps I will die at the expense of caring for my friend. Then so be it! I don't want to live out of unjust circumstance!"

"Mel, you make a good point, but he says he won't mind it if he dies. He would mind it if you died, though."

"If it weren't for me, this would not even be happening. My appearance in this reality screwed everything up...I am so sorry. I've made his life better, but I've made it far worse."

"You told me that he threatened himself with a knife, and you saved him from it."

"If it weren't for my presence, he wouldn't have done that."

"Oh, no? And what about being his friend and assisting him during his times of need?"

"I guess, but--"

"Mel, don't you get it?! If it weren't for you, he'd already _be_ dead! Accept what can't be change and fix what can! Other than that, there's nothing you can do! You must let him go on this one. Release him of his suffering. Don't hold on any longer, or you'll just torture him more. Mel...you know it's the right thing to do."

"I couldn't..."

"Yes, you can." She walked toward him, slowly, deliberately, and saw his miserable face.

"I'm going to kill you now, Dib. I don't want you to suffer anymore. I am so, so, _SO_ sorry...I do this out of friendship...I do this out of care and love. Dib, do you have anything for me to use?" He pointed to his right pocket, and she searched inside of it, finding the handle to a kitchen knife with a makeshift sheath surrounding it. Unsheathing it, she fought tears back, and raised the knife above him. "I apologize...for this is what I do to help you be peaceful and happy." The knife quivered in her hand and she tossed it to the other side of the cave. "I can't do it."

Mel remained in the spot next to her friend, and Zim stood by her, watching. A disturbance was felt in the air, and it seemed as though the Irken armada was landing outside. The Earth shook, and Mel was flung into the air and against the cave wall. Winds were high, and could not be of a natural origin. Soon, everything was back to normal, though one could hardly define normal in this state of being, and she walked back to where Dib lay.

With a whisper that held death in its wake, Dib said, "Mel...take everything I have. Look in my pockets. Search my clothes. I want you to have these things when I die."

"You're not going to die! This nonsense must stop! This madness must end!"

"I will die. I'll die here. You know that."

"I would prefer that you didn't."

"We can't always have things as we'd like them."

"Well, maybe this one time we will." She gripped his hand, hoping that he might be restored to health. Nothing happened, and soldiers of three armies--the Falish, the Seraul, and the Irkens--filed into the cavern, all pointing guns to their heads.

"Hold it right there!" they shouted. The voice of the Tallest filled the cave, instructing them to put down their weapons, or the whole planet would be obliterated. The weaponry of the Irkens fell immediately to the ground, and the Falish followed slowly after, then the Seraul. 

"We've come for the one named Dib!" the Irken in charge yelled at them. "He is supposed to help us, according to the legend!"

"No! He is of our planet!" the Falish military officer said. "He is to lead us into victory and freedom according to prophecy!"

"You are both wrong!" the Seraul leader said. He had light green skin and large, orange eyes that burned like a raging fire. Tall and muscular with reptilian scales, he looked the perfect image of a military official. "The one named Dib has a father of our planet, though now deceased. He is to live on Seraul, his rightful planet."

"He's going to die!" Mel shouted. "He's about to die and you fight over which planet he is to have citizenship to! This is insane! He's about to die! You should respect that! You people have lost sight of what it is to be a species! Preying on one another like you're the primitive animals from which you descend! Fighting wars and slaughtering species like it were all just a game! Weeding out emotions from a creature's mind and watching their torment for the sake of a form of science no one ever knew! That's not what this life's all about! This life is about finding out answers to all the questions imaginable and determining what path is best! Treat him with some dignity! That is all that I ask. Don't treat him as an experiment, but as a _human being_. Because that is what he is! It doesn't matter what flesh you wear or what name you go by. Being human is living with human emotions and thoughts and knowing that special bond that can be found within friends. This is what I know. If you do not accept my words as fact, then respect it as opinion and philosophy."

"Mel..." Dib whispered with a weak voice, "Kiana...listen to me. They won't respect that. They'll take me and experiment on me. I cannot live through that. I cannot escape. I want you to kill me. I don't want to die at the hands of my enemy. I want you to kill me. You must do this."

"The boy speaks of her as Kiana! She is his friend that was told in the prophecy that holds the powers of a Kivoc! Only he can address her by her first name!"

"Then the prophecy's wrong," Zim said. Everyone turned to the little Irken, and he continued, "I call her Mel. I do not call her the title that she was given, because that's what it is. A title. Kiana is a title, meaning 'Mysterious One.' But I call my close friends by their names, not their titles. Mel is my friend. Not any Kiana."

"Mel, you must kill me," Dib pleaded. "You must! Kill me! Don't let me die at their hands and horrible experiments! Let me die peacefully! Take that knife out and stab me in the heart! Do it! Quickly!"

"Dib, I can't. I WON'T! I WON'T DO IT!"

"You must."

"NO! I CANNOT KILL YOU!"

"You have to. You must. Do it. Do it for my dignity."

"I will try. And please remember that these Earth tears are yours to keep for all eternity."

"I will remember that." She lifted the knife, the blade gleaming brilliantly in the light that filtered through into the cave.

"She can't do it!" someone screamed. "She cannot do it! The prophecy says that she is the Kivoc unable to kill even her worst enemies! If she can't kill her worst enemies, how can she kill her best friend?!"

"I can do it if he requests for it to be so," she muttered as he thrust it forward into his heart. Blood gushed out, some splattering on her face and the rest drenching her clothes. Dib's face grew pale, he coughed a little blood out, splattering onto the ground, and fell to the ground. He lay silent there, and everyone was in shock at what she had done. Especially Zim.

"I didn't think you'd..." Zim began, "...I didn't think you'd actually..._kill_ him."

"I didn't think so either. I had to do it, though." There was some muttering in the Old Language, and Mel asked what they were saying.

"They say that they have to retrieve the body to do tests on it."

"What?! Not in a million years! I'm not going to allow that to happen!"

"They're not going to listen to you."

"Then I'll have to make them listen."

"Wait, Mel, what on Irk are you doing?!"

"Just watch! Everyone! Greedy for learning of the physical presences that keep us tied with our primitive natures! Ignoring the knowledge of the things that truly matter like it was yesterday's paper! Take a look at primitive society, and thus doing so take a look at yourselves! Do you have no respect for the deceased? Do you have no respect for other spiritual and mental states? Do you not comprehend what this is doing to your precious societies? Your society is encompassed by this greed and ignorance, and though it takes a separate form and thus a separate course from humanity, do you not realize that what it does is the same? Humanity is just a phase of planet Earth. And your species are just phases of intergalactic history. You ignore the facts and do not fulfill the greatest potential you have because you do not remember or you choose to forget that _nothing lasts forever_. Nothing.

"Life becomes death, and death becomes life--so saying, existence is a mesh of perpetual changes, most of which we have no control over. These are the answers over which Dib has died for, and these are the answers over which I killed him. These are the truths that the populace has chosen to forget or ignore, the truths that have destroyed and created. With this, I bid you goodbye as I preserve the ideals for which my friend fought." 

She searched his pockets and articles of clothing, looking for any items. There was a photograph of Gaz, one of Mel's books, a letter, and another photo--it was the two of them on the night of the skool dance when they were awarded 'best couple.' It was the only picture she had of him, and she carefully tucked it away in her pocket. "It is here," she began once more, "that I say farewell to the dearly departed, and make sure that none of you can snatch him up for experimentation or any such horrors." Mel removed his mangled glasses, put them into her pocket and took off his coat. She placed it on herself, took a stray branch, and lit it in the burning fire. With a tear to her eye, she set fire to him, allowing him to burn up in front of her eyes. "If he cannot live, I must return him to the Earth from which he came." No one made a move, for they were too shocked by her behavior. "May he finally rest in peace."

Zim walked over to her and comforted her. "There might be such a thing as a happy ending," Mel said, "but it always seems to exist elsewhere. It seems like I'm just chasing an impossible dream."

"There, there, human."

"I am so confused at this moment that I won't even begin to question why you regard me differently from the other humans."

"Sometimes there are just questions without answers." He escorted her out of the cave, and not one person attempted to stop them, for it was obvious that this girl, this Kivoc--had an air of mystery about her. No one could really tell what was going on in her mind or what she would do or why, and they figured that this gave her the name Kiana--the 'Mysterious One.'

_Living with the knowledge that an entire species regards you as an important person when you have made no accomplishment worthy of this respect is a very dangerous thing. It has ruined many and corrupted them from doing anything worthwhile, in some cases making them power-hungry animals who seek only for riches and fame--monuments to immortalize their likeness. It is for this reason that exceptions have been made in the timeline, allowing such catastrophe to be evaded. As for the question regarding the accuracy of the term 'death,' I must say that I know nothing that is more misunderstood, and I myself do not even begin to comprehend the subject. What I do know, however, is that if humanity, or any species, for that matter, allows physical presences to dominate their lives, we are condemned to clouded vision and faded knowledge in a swirling torrent of misery and pain. 'Nothing lasts forever,' it is said, but this only applies to entities of and concerned of the physical world. After all, nothing of a physical nature lasts forever--it all comes and goes in phases--but that of a spiritual and mental level is everlasting. In short, the very concept of eternity is, both by definition and logic, everlasting. The past, the present, and the future--none truly are distinguishable in the eyes of infinity, and yet those three elements that form our perception of time dominate our lives._

_Even when you change the unchangeable fate, you still feel just as confined and trapped as ever._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception._


	21. The Leaving of a Stranger

Chapter Twenty-One: The Leaving of a Stranger

Mel sat at the table in Zim's kitchen, staring at the objects retrieved from Dib before his body was burned. Zim, walking in, noticed what she was doing.

"Human, why do you mourn this way?"

"I'm trying to detach myself from my attachment to his living as a being on our physical plane of existence."

"Eh?"

"I am trying to make myself remember that it does not matter whether he is alive in the sense that we are--talking, walking, breathing--and that what does matter is that he's alive in memory."

"Why did you kill him, then? If you mourn him so much, why did you kill him? We could've gotten him out of there."

"I had to prove something to him and to myself: I had to prove that I can overcome my primitive ways of thinking that the deceased are truly dead. He's alive in another form. I had to prove that I could overcome that and know he's okay. He's better off than before. I had to do it."

"Then why do you mourn him?"

"I don't really mourn him in that sense...I just miss being able to interact with him. You know, talking, laughing..."

"...Arguing..."

"Alas, arguing, too. I want you to remember something, and remember it always. I'll have to go back to my own reality soon, but I'll write a book in his honor, and yours as well. Zim, the prophecy they spoke of is not for Dib to fulfill. Not in this universe. It is your place to end the warring with the words of wisdom I speak and write. I give to you in my leave a book of all that I've learned regarding philosophy, fact, and the workings of minds. You will publish it as your own, and refer to it for the answers you need. These battles have ended in my friend's death, but my perception has been strengthened by it. You will carry out our duty, for we will both be unable to stop the insanity. It is up to you, Zim, and as my friend, I trust you."

"Thank you."

"I find you deserving of this trust, and it is through you that I must go back to my own reality and meet my family again. I don't think they'd believe my story as any more than another work of fiction branching from my mind, but all the same, I'll know that this has happened. I hope to leave on a happy note, so I must stop grieving over Dib's demise."

"Mel, you are the Kiana they described. You and the Dib have changed fate--do you realize what this means?"

"What?"

"You've changed the unchangeable. You've fixed the unfixable. You've altered the unalterable."

"Zim...in doing so, you've lost me by my title of Kiana, and lost me by my title of Kivoc. You are the Kivoc, the one sent to destroy your own world but you cannot bring yourself to do it, the one who cannot kill even your worst enemies after finding out the truth of the matter."

"I may be the Kivoc," Zim said, "but I am not the Kiana. You're title is Kiana, and only you have this title. It is yours, and one day you will return and fulfill this promise."

"Thank you. I must be on my way now, though."

"Mel, tell me something. What was Dib's last request?"

"For me to kill him. I told him to remember that the Earth tears are his to keep eternally, and he said, 'I will remember that.'"

"And then you returned him to the Earth from which he came."

"Exactly."

"I still have his ashes. You may take them with you to remember him by."

"No. I don't need it."

"Take it." Zim handed her an urn, and she thought of her friend. She had not thought she could kill anyone before, and yet she killed her best friend.

"No," she said. "I cannot still have this material attachment to him. This is not what remains of Dib. This is what remains of the body he was trapped in." With these words, she dropped the urn, and it shattered into a million pieces, dirtying the floor about them.

"Mel...why did you do that?"

"It's not my place to say. I must leave, now."

"But Mel, I..." She disappeared, as though an apparition, and Zim wondered at it. "You...really _were _dead." However, he was wrong in thinking this, for she was not dead. She was very much real, and very much alive.

Back in her own reality, Mel found herself just waking up from slumber in her bed.

"Mel! Wake up!" her dad called.

"Zim? Is that you?"

"I think you've reached a whole new realm of fanaticism if you think your own father is Zim."

"What...? Where am I?"

"Here in your room. Did you go sleepwalking on the moon or something?"

"I...This can't...but Dib...Fali..."  
"Your alarms went off, but you didn't wake up. Do you know what's on right now?"

"What?"

"Invader Zim. Come on, you're missing it." She dropped her jaw, disbelieving what was happening. Supposing that it really was just a dream, she pulled the covers off and screamed.

Looking down, she saw that her clothes were tattered and bloody, and she was covered in the ashes of her dead friend. Still wearing Dib's coat, her shaking hand reached in her pocket and removed the contents. The knife, the knife that killed, lay in her hands as well as the photograph from the skool dance. It was real. All of it. She vowed to one day return and right the wrongs she had done to that universe. She swore to avenge Dib and punish the tri-species system--the Falish, Seraul, and Irkens--for the pain they caused and the illusions they perpetrated.

_Sometimes life plays tricks on you; it clouds your perception. Just when you think you've got answers, you turn around and find that the picture's upside down and everything's jumbled. Nothing can truly be determined as being fact, and perspectives, beliefs, and even what we consider as undeniable truths become illusions. Everything gets vague, and from my experience in trying to live through life, for all I know, my entire life has just been one cleverly projected illusion, and that nothing may exist as I know it at all. This is just a simple fact. Nothing, no matter how you put it, will ever be certain for me again._

_Life is an uncertainty in and of itself._

_--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception._


End file.
